McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Price Target Cut to $315.00 by Analysts at Guggenheim

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price target cut by Guggenheim from $325.00 to $315.00 in a research report report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the fast-food giant’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on MCD. UBS Group dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Stephens reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of McDonald’s from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Erste Group Bank restated a hold rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $337.00 to $320.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $317.74.

McDonald’s Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE MCD traded down $2.96 during trading on Thursday, reaching $270.32. 2,642,344 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,812,742. The stock 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. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $279.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $282.35. McDonald’s has a 12-month low of $245.73 and a 12-month high of $302.39.

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

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 Trading of McDonald’s

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Keener Financial Planning LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 176 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in McDonald’s by 1.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 14,771 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,165,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.3% during the first quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,833 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $799,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1,041.1% in the first quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 23,541 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $6,637,000 after purchasing an additional 21,478 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 4.8% in the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,218 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $907,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in 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.