McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Rating Lowered to Neutral at Guggenheim

Guggenheim lowered shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $285.00 price objective on the fast-food giant’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $290.00.

MCD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.22.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $292.61 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $297.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $274.91. McDonald’s has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90. The company has a market capitalization of $210.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.84, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that McDonald’s will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,966,996.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 9,291 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $2,833,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,193,080. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 34,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,256,818. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,567,030,000 after purchasing an additional 188,888 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,542,550,000 after buying an additional 2,193,769 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,216,677,000 after buying an additional 354,196 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 39.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,565,398 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,005,264,000 after buying an additional 1,012,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 31,151.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $706,202,000 after buying an additional 2,311,721 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.