McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eighteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $320.87.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird cut shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $320.00 to $290.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $350.00 to $342.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total value of $436,134.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $453,882. This represents a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at $2,214,275.25. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,406 shares of company stock worth $2,150,857. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 626 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 85.0% during the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 90,831 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $23,147,000 after purchasing an additional 41,729 shares during the last quarter. Peloton Wealth Strategists lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Peloton Wealth Strategists now owns 5,768 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,470,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Alethea Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $466,000. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,575,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $290.19 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 $207.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50-day moving average is $291.11 and its 200 day moving average is $289.24.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.19 EPS. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s will post 11.72 earnings per share for the current year.

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.