McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Sees Large Volume Increase After Strong Earnings

by · The Markets Daily

Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD – Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. 2,362,548 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 32% from the previous session’s volume of 3,485,934 shares.The stock last traded at $297.89 and had previously closed at $296.79.

The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.19 EPS. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $1.77 dividend. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MCD shares. Guggenheim downgraded McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $318.74.

View Our Latest Research Report on McDonald’s

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was 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 approximately $14,966,996.55. This trade 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. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 9,291 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value 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 $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 90 days, insiders sold 34,097 shares of company stock worth $10,256,818. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.4% in the third quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 1,422 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.0% during the third quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $513,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.0% during the third quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,472 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,057,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.8% during the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Founders Financial Alliance LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.7% during the second quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 4,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,269,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Stock Down 1.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $209.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $298.19 and a 200-day moving average of $275.47.

McDonald’s Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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