Brokerages Set McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) PT at $319.46

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eighteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $319.46.

Several research firms recently commented on MCD. Argus upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $446,721.60. This represents a 48.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total value of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at $3,632,712.10. The trade was a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,596 shares of company stock valued at $10,698,289. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 6.9% during the third quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,869 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $874,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $408,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,295 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $9,220,000 after buying an additional 1,898 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in McDonald’s by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,833,510,000 after buying an additional 220,365 shares during the period. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 53.9% during the third quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,511 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,896,000 after acquiring an additional 3,331 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $291.10 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $300.06 and its 200-day moving average is $277.60. The company has a market cap of $208.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.19 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.65%.

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.