Citigroup Raises McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Price Target to $336.00

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its target price upped by research analysts at Citigroup from $334.00 to $336.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the fast-food giant’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 14.61% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently commented on MCD. Barclays raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Guggenheim cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $336.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.87.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $293.16 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $210.08 billion, a PE ratio of 25.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $291.07 and a 200-day moving average of $288.70. McDonald’s has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.90.

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

Insider Activity 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 Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total value of $441,470.49. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $459,435.60. The trade was a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of McDonald’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,905 shares of company stock worth $2,592,327 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at about $1,394,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,694,403,000 after acquiring an additional 49,106 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 6.5% in the third quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,186 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $14,978,000 after purchasing an additional 2,997 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at $2,471,000. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $16,870,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.