McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.86 on March 17th

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of 1.86 per share by the fast-food giant on Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 3rd.

McDonald’s has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 49 consecutive years. McDonald’s has a dividend payout ratio of 55.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect McDonald’s to earn $13.26 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $7.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 56.1%.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of MCD stock opened at $323.36 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $310.65 and its 200 day moving average is $307.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.59, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.52. McDonald’s has a 12 month low of $283.47 and a 12 month high of $328.06.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.33 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.10 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 280.89% and a net margin of 32.04%.The company’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MCD shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $372.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Oppenheimer raised shares of McDonald’s from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $355.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $331.37.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is a global quick-service restaurant company best known for its hamburgers, French fries and breakfast offerings. The company develops, operates and franchises a system of restaurants that sell a range of food and beverage items, including signature products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, McCafé coffee beverages and a variety of salads, desserts and seasonal menu items. McDonald’s serves customers through company-operated restaurants and franchised locations, and it supports sales via dine-in, drive-thru, digital ordering platforms and third-party delivery partnerships.

Founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald as a single San Bernardino, California restaurant, the business was transformed into a franchising model after Ray Kroc joined in the mid-1950s and led the brand’s national and international expansion.