McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Given New $340.00 Price Target at Evercore ISI

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price objective boosted by Evercore ISI from $320.00 to $340.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the fast-food giant’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $314.92.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $313.32 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $291.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $272.91. McDonald’s has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $315.36. The company has a market capitalization of $225.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.60, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.17 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that McDonald’s will post 11.71 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 60.10%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $727,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 2,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,550. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in McDonald’s by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,567,030,000 after acquiring an additional 188,888 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in McDonald’s by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,542,550,000 after acquiring an additional 2,193,769 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in McDonald’s by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,216,677,000 after acquiring an additional 354,196 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in McDonald’s by 39.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,565,398 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,005,264,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co lifted its position in McDonald’s by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 2,273,354 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $640,972,000 after acquiring an additional 8,475 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.