Melius Research Cuts McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Price Target to $230.00

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price target decreased by Melius Research from $250.00 to $230.00 in a research report released on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Melius Research currently has a sell rating on the fast-food giant’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $290.00 to $285.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Evercore cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $310.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $300.64.

McDonald’s Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of MCD stock opened at $231.18 on Monday. McDonald’s has a twelve month low of $230.88 and a twelve month high of $341.75. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $260.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $278.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $163.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.41.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The fast-food giant reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.13 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 572.06% and a net margin of 31.72%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.19 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 12.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $1.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $7.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 60.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MCD. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,359,276,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in McDonald’s by 30,979.0% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,596,340 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $806,917,000 after buying an additional 2,587,986 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its stake in McDonald’s by 9,867.5% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,541,008 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $776,608,000 after buying an additional 2,515,515 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in McDonald’s by 49.9% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,104,337 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $948,779,000 after buying an additional 1,033,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in McDonald’s by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,983,997 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $10,997,789,000 after buying an additional 959,140 shares in 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 beverage platform is generating additional visits, larger checks and improved cash flow. A broader international rollout could provide a new growth driver beyond core food sales. Can McDonald’s Beverage Expansion Become Its Next Global Growth Wave?
• Positive Sentiment: The company is expanding its loyalty program with offers and partnerships, including Disney+ and Uber credits, to reactivate infrequent users and increase visit frequency. McDonald’s has nearly 220 million active loyalty members over a 90-day period, creating a substantial marketing opportunity. McDonald’s has a plan to win back 150 million customers
• Neutral Sentiment: McDonald’s is investing approximately $8.5 billion in AI, restaurant technology, menu changes and higher-protein offerings aimed at adapting to the GLP-1 era. The spending could improve efficiency and customer engagement, but the scale of the investment raises execution and return-on-capital concerns. McDonald’s is spending $8.5 billion to put an AI called Archy in drive-thrus
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are reacting negatively to AI-driven dynamic pricing, which may recommend different menu prices by restaurant or customer willingness to pay. The strategy could improve margins, but risks customer backlash, franchisee resistance and regulatory scrutiny similar to Wendy’s experience. Insight: Inside McDonald’s push to have AI price your Big Mac
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts have raised concerns about valuation and near-term demand. Melius Research cut its price target to $230 and assigned a sell rating, while Jefferies lowered its target to $250 despite retaining an overweight rating. Morgan Stanley also expects U.S. comparable sales to remain pressured through year-end. McDonald’s Stock Slump Makes Its AI Pricing Bet Even Riskier
• Negative Sentiment: Higher Treasury yields are weighing on McDonald’s, a relatively defensive, dividend-oriented stock, by making fixed-income alternatives more attractive and increasing pressure on valuation. McDonald’s stock slide reveals surprising Treasury link

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corporation is a global quick-service restaurant company that operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald’s brand. Its restaurants serve a menu that includes hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, French fries, breakfast items, desserts, salads, beverages and coffee. Offerings vary by market, and many locations provide drive-thru service, delivery and digital ordering through the McDonald’s mobile app.

The company operates through a heavily franchised business model, with restaurants owned and operated by independent franchisees, affiliates and the company itself.