McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Stock Rating Upgraded by Erste Group Bank

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) was upgraded by Erste Group Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America upped their target price on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp upped their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.39.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE MCD opened at $303.60 on Monday. McDonald’s has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $326.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $297.49 and a 200-day moving average of $297.13. The firm has a market cap of $216.91 billion, a PE ratio of 26.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,807,201.25. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total value of $319,918.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,187 shares in the company, valued at $2,383,235.70. The trade was a 11.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MCD. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at $2,725,190,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at $703,074,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at $350,935,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,570,511,000 after buying an additional 895,896 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,054,387 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,175,326,000 after buying an additional 794,536 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.