Christopher J. Kempczinski Sells 9,291 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Stock

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 9,291 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $2,833,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,193,080. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD opened at $303.69 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $281.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $271.02. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $306.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.72.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The company had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 56.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the second quarter worth approximately $6,612,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 58.9% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 138,102 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $35,194,000 after purchasing an additional 51,210 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,180,928 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $350,157,000 after purchasing an additional 15,863 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its position in McDonald’s by 411.4% during the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 7,497 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,223,000 after purchasing an additional 6,031 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the first quarter valued at $7,898,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MCD. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Guggenheim upped their price target on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Eleven 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $308.22.

About McDonald’s

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.