McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Price Target Raised to $354.00

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its target price upped by KeyCorp from $340.00 to $354.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the fast-food giant’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on MCD. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $360.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on McDonald’s from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $338.07.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD stock opened at $327.34 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $232.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s 50-day moving average is $317.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $310.90. McDonald’s has a fifty-two week low of $283.47 and a fifty-two week high of $341.75.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.81 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.85% and a negative return on equity of 343.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.83 EPS. Equities analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be paid a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 62.26%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 6,201 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.29, for a total transaction of $2,066,731.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $763,567.39. This represents a 73.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 333 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.43, for a total value of $110,033.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,885,645.19. The trade was a 3.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,517 shares of company stock valued at $23,655,503. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,750 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $535,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Encompass More Asset Management boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Encompass More Asset Management now owns 2,120 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $648,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Richmond Investment Services LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Richmond Investment Services LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $696,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management inc. lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management inc. now owns 8,809 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,692,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WD Rutherford LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% in the third quarter. WD Rutherford LLC now owns 3,261 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $991,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about McDonald’s

Here are the key news stories impacting McDonald’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s renewed a multi‑year global technology partnership with Capgemini to modernize guest and crew platforms, supporting digital scale and the company’s “Accelerating the Arches” strategy — a potential margin and efficiency tailwind. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Management is pursuing aggressive unit growth — targeting 50,000 restaurants by 2027 with ~2,600 openings planned in 2026 — which is a clear growth catalyst if franchise economics hold and new units drive system sales. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Fresh and revived brand partnerships (new Happy Meal collaborations, a Crocs Happy Meal tie‑in, and NHL promotional items in Canada) boost marketing momentum and can drive incremental traffic and AUVs on a low incremental cost basis. Read More. Read More. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/investor positioning trends such as the recent “HALO” trade (investors rotating into defensive, consumer‑staples names) could support demand for MCD as a relatively defensive, high‑quality consumer stock even as growth cycles shift. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: The nationwide rollout of the Big Arch Burger has drawn mixed consumer reviews and is testing premium pricing — raising short‑term execution and value perception questions that investors watch closely. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: A short, awkward viral video of McDonald’s CEO sampling the Big Arch triggered a social‑media backlash and competitor response (Burger King, Wendy’s taste‑test posts), creating reputational noise and distracting from product messaging — a near‑term sentiment headwind. Read More. Read More.

About McDonald’s

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is a global quick-service restaurant company best known for its hamburgers, French fries and breakfast offerings. The company develops, operates and franchises a system of restaurants that sell a range of food and beverage items, including signature products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, McCafé coffee beverages and a variety of salads, desserts and seasonal menu items. McDonald’s serves customers through company-operated restaurants and franchised locations, and it supports sales via dine-in, drive-thru, digital ordering platforms and third-party delivery partnerships.

Founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald as a single San Bernardino, California restaurant, the business was transformed into a franchising model after Ray Kroc joined in the mid-1950s and led the brand’s national and international expansion.