"The CEO of McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) is bullish on his own stock; he recently bought $1.1 million in shares," says trading and investing expert Bill Martin in BullMarket.com.
"On October 23, CEO Jim Skinner purchased 20,000 shares at $55.00, increasing his holdings to 236,700 shares. The buy was the first for Skinner in at least five years. "Under the terms of McDonald's stock ownership guidelines, Skinner is expected to hold 6 times his annual base salary in shares, or $7.65 million in stock.
"He exceeded the ownership guidelines prior to his recent purchase and presently owns more than $12.55 million in shares, excluding unvested restricted stock, phantom stock, and options.
"Excluding dividends, shares of McDonald's have risen nearly 90% during Skinner's approximately four-year tenure at the helm, no small feat considering they rose just 2% in the preceding four years and 43% in the preceding eight years.
"That type of performance deserves a lot of credit, and investors should take notice when Skinner is putting skin into the game.
"Skinner's statement on the Q3 earnings call that McDonald's continues to be 'recession resistant' was bold, but the company's results seem to back it up and he's putting his money where his mouth is.
"When you take into account McDonald's results and Skinner's optimism in the face of an obviously deteriorating economy, it's hard to ignore the largest insider purchase at the company in more than five years.
"A company lifer, Skinner is now more financially committed to the business than ever before, and his buy represents an almost total transactional reversal of sentiment for himself and company insiders. We recently upgraded this longtime Recommended list selection to 'Buy,; and it's nice to see that its CEO agrees."
Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers a daily look at the latest market commentary and favorite stock picks and investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.
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