McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Price Target Raised to $300.00

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price objective lifted by TD Cowen from $280.00 to $300.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the fast-food giant’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $315.69.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $316.53 on Wednesday. McDonald’s has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $294.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.73. The company has a market cap of $228.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.87, a PEG ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s will post 11.71 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 60.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $285,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,557,060. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $285,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,557,060. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $446,721.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,221,233 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 140,807 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $42,877,000 after purchasing an additional 24,787 shares in the last quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 1,696 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 194,322 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $59,173,000 after purchasing an additional 32,456 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the third quarter worth $210,000. Finally, Buckley Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 9.0% in the third quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,356 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,327,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

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.