McDonald’s Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:MCD)

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock traders purchased 28,547 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 68% compared to the average volume of 16,951 call options.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD stock traded down $1.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $311.34. 1,172,235 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,422,165. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $303.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $304.20. McDonald’s has a 52-week low of $276.53 and a 52-week high of $326.32. The company has a market cap of $221.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.50.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.10 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.21% and a negative return on equity of 225.52%. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on MCD. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $322.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $324.57.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $315,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 6,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,160,270. This trade represents a 12.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ian Frederick Borden sold 17,134 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $5,311,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,169,430. The trade was a 39.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,463 shares of company stock worth $10,549,351. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,780,712,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 29,382.3% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,737,548 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,676,339,000 after purchasing an additional 5,718,087 shares in the last quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at about $1,412,069,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,324,961,000. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 171.7% during the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 3,125,432 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $913,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974,998 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.