McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $1.77

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, September 25th,Zacks Dividends reports. Shareholders 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 of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67.

McDonald’s has raised its dividend payment by an average of 7.3% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 49 consecutive years. McDonald’s has a dividend 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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $296.01 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $299.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $278.95. McDonald’s has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.19 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that McDonald’s will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,721.60. This trade represents a 48.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $727,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 2,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $900,550. This represents a 44.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,597 shares of company stock valued at $10,702,754 over the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim lowered McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Thirteen equities research 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.46.

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.