Robert W. Baird Issues Positive Forecast for McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Stock Price

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price target raised by Robert W. Baird from $322.00 to $325.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the fast-food giant’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Bank of America lowered their price objective on McDonald’s from $327.00 to $322.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Mizuho upgraded McDonald’s to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $362.00 to $358.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $323.91.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD traded up $1.30 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $299.71. The stock had a trading volume of 3,247,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,452,741. The company has a market cap of $213.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $304.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $305.20. McDonald’s has a twelve month low of $276.53 and a twelve month high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.33 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.10 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.21% and a negative return on equity of 225.52%. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 63.48%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $310,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 99 shares in the company, valued at $30,690. This trade represents a 90.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $315,000.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 6,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,160,270. This represents a 12.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 15,134 shares of company stock worth $4,570,716. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 162.5% during the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 84 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 142.9% in the second quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 85 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.