McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Price Target Cut to $300.00

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its target price reduced by Wedbush from $330.00 to $300.00 in a research report report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the fast-food giant’s stock. Wedbush also issued estimates for McDonald’s’ Q2 2024 earnings at $3.15 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $3.35 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.97 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $3.46 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $3.53 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $3.28 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $13.25 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on MCD. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $345.00 to $340.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Argus reissued a hold rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, March 25th. BTIG Research downgraded McDonald’s from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $318.41.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.2 %

MCD stock opened at $273.57 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s has a 52-week low of $245.73 and a 52-week high of $302.39. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $281.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $282.15.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.12. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 171.96% and a net margin of 33.22%. The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.59 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that McDonald’s will post 12.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at $4,696,517.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MCD. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,049,310 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $20,473,811,000 after buying an additional 599,745 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,200,473 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,423,773,000 after acquiring an additional 151,161 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,684,899,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,347,048 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,178,474,000 after purchasing an additional 987,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 141,160.9% in the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 5,613,710 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,664,521,000 after purchasing an additional 5,609,736 shares during the period. 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.