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

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price objective lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $280.00 to $300.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the fast-food giant’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays increased their target price on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim downgraded McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W downgraded McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.61.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.8 %

McDonald’s stock opened at $309.99 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $222.15 billion, a PE ratio of 27.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $291.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $292.08.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. As a group, analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total value of $84,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 17,906 shares of company stock valued at $5,406,382. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,725,190,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $703,074,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 31,151.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $706,202,000 after buying an additional 2,311,721 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,054,387 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,175,326,000 after buying an additional 794,536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 542.9% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $244,174,000 after buying an additional 677,139 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.