McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Upgraded to Buy at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $334.00 price objective on the fast-food giant’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $311.00.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $321.39.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $282.22 on Friday. McDonald’s has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50-day moving average is $293.94 and its 200 day moving average is $286.07.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.19 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s will post 11.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total transaction of $441,470.49. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $459,435.60. The trade was a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $727,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 2,905 shares in the company, valued at $900,550. The trade was a 44.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,050 shares of company stock valued at $3,556,688 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter worth $31,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.