McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Price Target Cut to $330.00 by Analysts at KeyCorp

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price objective trimmed by KeyCorp from $345.00 to $330.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the fast-food giant’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Thursday. Erste Group Bank cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on McDonald’s from $372.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $335.14.

McDonald’s Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $275.62 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $311.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $311.40. The company has a market cap of $195.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.43. McDonald’s has a 12-month low of $274.83 and a 12-month high of $341.75.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $6.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.47 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.62% and a negative return on equity of 395.08%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.67 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that McDonald’s will post 13.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 26,276 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.54, for a total transaction of $8,764,097.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,638,066. This represents a 53.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 333 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.72, for a total value of $100,805.76. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,442,042.24. The trade was a 3.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 71,990 shares of company stock valued at $23,824,113 in the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,351,127 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $22,112,675,000 after acquiring an additional 703,458 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $10,997,789,000 after acquiring an additional 959,140 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,038,519 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $5,195,965,000 after acquiring an additional 76,090 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,474,749 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,895,768,000 after buying an additional 277,617 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at $2,890,438,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s beat Q1 earnings and revenue estimates, with EPS of $2.83 and revenue of $6.52 billion, helping reassure investors that the brand is still executing well in a tougher consumer environment. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Global comparable sales rose 3.8%, supported by value meals, loyalty spending, and new menu items such as the Big Arch burger and specialty drinks, showing McDonald’s value push is driving traffic and sales growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts kept bullish ratings even as they trimmed price targets, reflecting confidence that McDonald’s can keep gaining share and recover if consumer demand stabilizes. Article Title

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.