Robert W. Baird Cuts McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Price Target to $300.00

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price target cut by Robert W. Baird from $305.00 to $300.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the fast-food giant’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on MCD. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on McDonald’s from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. UBS Group lowered their price target on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a hold rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $330.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $317.74.

McDonald’s Stock Down 1.1 %

MCD opened at $270.32 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $279.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $282.35. McDonald’s has a 52 week low of $245.73 and a 52 week high of $302.39. The firm has a market cap of $194.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.95, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 180.54% and a net margin of 33.36%. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that McDonald’s will post 12.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at $4,696,517.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The transaction 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,140,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MCD. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,049,310 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $20,473,811,000 after buying an additional 599,745 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,200,473 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,423,773,000 after acquiring an additional 151,161 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,684,899,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,347,048 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,178,474,000 after purchasing an additional 987,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 141,160.9% during the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 5,613,710 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,664,521,000 after purchasing an additional 5,609,736 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.