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

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price objective dropped by analysts at Wedbush from $330.00 to $300.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the fast-food giant’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 9.25% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on MCD. Barclays cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $343.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $291.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $318.69.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock traded down $0.99 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $274.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,046,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,250,887. The stock has a market cap of $198.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s has a one year low of $245.73 and a one year high of $302.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $282.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $281.37.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.22% and a negative return on equity of 171.96%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.59 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s will post 12.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MCD. CX Institutional raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 8,024 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,114,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 10.6% in the third quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC now owns 835 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. TFG Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 7.4% in the third quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 5,974 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,574,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the period. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 20.0% in the third quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 8,699 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,292,000 after buying an additional 1,450 shares during the period. Finally, Zullo Investment Group Inc. grew its stake in McDonald’s by 5.4% during the third quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 6,228 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Company Profile

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.