McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) to Issue Dividend Increase – $1.77 Per Share

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, September 25th,Zacks Dividends reports. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of 1.77 per share by the fast-food giant on Monday, December 16th. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67.

McDonald’s has increased its dividend payment by an average of 7.3% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 49 years. McDonald’s has a payout ratio of 56.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect McDonald’s to earn $12.53 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $7.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 56.5%.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE MCD opened at $296.01 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $299.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $279.01. McDonald’s has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90. The company has a market cap of $212.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,966,996.55. This trade represents a 19.03 % 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. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,721.60. This represents a 48.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 35,597 shares of company stock valued at $10,702,754. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $320.00 to $290.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.46.

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.