Citigroup Cuts McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Price Target to $335.00

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price target trimmed by Citigroup from $375.00 to $335.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the fast-food giant’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price objective on McDonald’s in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Evercore set a $350.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, May 8th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $336.32.

McDonald’s Stock Down 2.1%

NYSE MCD opened at $267.74 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $277.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $300.33. McDonald’s has a 12-month low of $264.09 and a 12-month high of $341.75. The firm has a market cap of $190.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.07, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.41.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.47 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 442.10% and a net margin of 31.62%.McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.67 EPS. Equities analysts expect that McDonald’s will post 12.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd were paid a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,763 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.36, for a total transaction of $769,108.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,744,760.48. This trade represents a 30.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 5,252 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.32, for a total transaction of $1,493,248.64. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,734 shares in the company, valued at $2,198,930.88. The trade was a 40.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,681 shares of company stock worth $2,456,440. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP bought a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Park Place Capital Corp raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 95.7% in the fourth quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 92 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting McDonald’s

Here are the key news stories impacting McDonald’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Tigress Financial raised its price target on McDonald’s to $390 from $385 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling confidence that the stock has meaningful upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage and commentary continue to highlight McDonald’s value offerings, loyalty efforts, localized marketing, and menu innovation as ways the company can support customer traffic and defend sales trends.
• Neutral Sentiment: McDonald’s is expected to report second-quarter earnings next month, with consensus calling for modest single-digit profit growth, keeping investor focus on whether traffic and margins improve.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent product news, including the new Caesar sauce and other menu rollouts, is generating consumer interest, but the items appear more promotional than clearly material to near-term earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: Articles questioning why McDonald’s stock is at nearly two-year lows and noting a 10.1% decline over the past six months versus a rising S&P 500 suggest investors are worried about relative underperformance and slowing momentum.
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary describing a “McProblem” that is not getting better points to continuing concerns about business execution, customer traffic, or overall sentiment toward the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: One recent piece also urged investors to stay skeptical, indicating that while the stock may look attractive to some value investors, there are still fundamental questions weighing on shares.

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.