McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.05 EPS

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.19 earnings per share.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD stock traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $292.21. The stock had a trading volume of 199,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,508,863. McDonald’s has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.61 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’s 50-day moving average is $298.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $275.47.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $318.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at $3,632,712.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at $3,632,712.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.57, for a total value of $328,128.43. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,484 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,428,777.88. 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 ninety days, insiders sold 34,097 shares of company stock worth $10,256,818. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.