Mcdonald’s Corp (NYSE:MCD) – Equities research analysts at Piper Jaffray Companies decreased their Q1 2019 EPS estimates for shares of Mcdonald’s in a research note issued on Monday, February 11th. Piper Jaffray Companies analyst N. Regan now forecasts that the fast-food giant will post earnings per share of $1.81 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.86. Piper Jaffray Companies currently has a “Overweight” rating and a $194.00 price target on the stock. Piper Jaffray Companies also issued estimates for Mcdonald’s’ Q2 2019 earnings at $2.07 EPS, Q3 2019 earnings at $2.23 EPS, Q4 2019 earnings at $2.03 EPS and FY2019 earnings at $8.14 EPS.
Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Mcdonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Co raised their price target on shares of Mcdonald’s from $202.00 to $203.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 11th. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Mcdonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Mcdonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Mcdonald’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $173.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.35.
Shares of MCD stock opened at $174.15 on Wednesday. Mcdonald’s has a 52 week low of $146.84 and a 52 week high of $190.88. The company has a market capitalization of $134.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.52.
Mcdonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 30th. The fast-food giant reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.07. Mcdonald’s had a net margin of 28.18% and a negative return on equity of 104.38%. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year.
Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ruggie Capital Group increased its stake in Mcdonald’s by 3,020.0% in the fourth quarter. Ruggie Capital Group now owns 156 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Gantzert Investment Co. LLC ADV acquired a new position in Mcdonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc increased its stake in Mcdonald’s by 4,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 184 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. increased its stake in Mcdonald’s by 47.9% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 207 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, New Capital Management LP increased its stake in Mcdonald’s by 33.1% in the fourth quarter. New Capital Management LP now owns 221 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.
In related news, EVP David Ogden Fairhurst sold 76,411 shares of Mcdonald’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.25, for a total transaction of $13,620,260.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,158,607.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Andrew J. Mckenna sold 30,000 shares of Mcdonald’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.27, for a total transaction of $5,408,100.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 128,447 shares of company stock valued at $23,015,775. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 28th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Mcdonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.73%.
About Mcdonald’s
McDonald’s Corporation operates and franchises McDonald’s restaurants in the United States and internationally. Its restaurants offer various food products, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages, as well as breakfast menu. As of December 31, 2017, the company operated 37,241 restaurants, including 34,108 franchised restaurants comprising 21,366 franchised to conventional franchisees, 6,945 licensed to developmental licensees, and 5,797 licensed to foreign affiliates; and 3,133 company-operated restaurants.