Late on Wednesday, September 25, the fast food giant McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) offered its investors a welcome surprise: a hefty dividend yield increase.
To be precise, the restaurant chain increased its dividends by 6%, meaning its yield now stands at 2.35% instead of the previous 2.22%.
The 48th annual increase in a row has sent the quarterly payments from $1.67 per share to $1.77 and the annual figure to $7.08, based on the September 25 closing price of $300.47.
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The first payment to account for the most recent hike will be distributed on December 16, 2024, to all investors who purchased the fast food giant’s stock before the stock market’s close on December 2.
Insiders sell millions worth of McDonald’s stock
Just days ahead of the positive announcement for investors, significant insider activity could have somewhat shaken trader confidence in MCD stock.
Indeed, on September 23, three senior McDonald’s insiders executed substantial sales of MCD shares.
To begin with, Joseph M Erlinger, the President of McDonald’s USA, sold 1,099 shares at an average price of $298.57 for approximately $328,128.
The chain’s Chief Financial Officer, Ian Frederick Borden, sold a substantially greater number – 5,939 shares – soon after at an average price of $300.04, thus raising just under $1.8 million.
McDonald’s CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski executed the biggest sale of the day when he offloaded 11,727 MCD shares for $300,03 each and made about $3.5 million on the trade.
Additionally, the CEO sold another 6,629 shares on September 24 for an estimated $2 million.
Out of the three, the least anomalous was the selling conducted by Erlinger as he tends to offload 1,098 to 1,099 MCD shares on the 23rd day of every months as exemplified by his August sale – which netted him almost $317,000 – and his July sale – which earned him some $285,000.
McDonald’s stock price chart
Meanwhile, McDonald’s stock has seemingly left behind its woes – driven most notably by the Israel-related boycotts – far behind.
After experiencing a significant and protracted decline from above $297 to about $250 in the first six months of the year, MCD shares have been on an uptrend since early July.
Such a shift in dynamics is exemplified by the fact that, in the year-to-date (YTD) chart, the fast food giant is only 0.98% in the green, while it is up 7.04% in the last six months and 3.56% in the latest 30 days.
McDonald’s stock price today, at press time, stands at $299.96 – slightly below the most recent closing price of $300.47.
