Barclays Increases McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Price Target to $325.00

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at Barclays from $300.00 to $325.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the fast-food giant’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 3.56% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.52.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of MCD traded down $1.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $313.83. The stock had a trading volume of 565,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,338,437. The company has a market capitalization of $226.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73. McDonald’s has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The company’s 50-day moving average is $295.53 and its 200 day moving average is $274.01.

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 the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that McDonald’s will post 11.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 2,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $900,550. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,998 shares of company stock worth $9,935,493 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s during the first quarter valued at $222,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 61.8% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,577 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $727,000 after buying an additional 984 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 17.6% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 66,448 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $18,735,000 after buying an additional 9,936 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 4,826 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,361,000 after acquiring an additional 957 shares during the period. Finally, Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $404,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.