The Goldman Sachs Group Raises McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Price Target to $325.00

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price objective hoisted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $284.00 to $325.00 in a research note released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the fast-food giant’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on MCD. Citigroup raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $275.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $308.22.

McDonald’s Price Performance

McDonald’s stock opened at $303.65 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $279.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $270.89. McDonald’s has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $304.29. The firm has a market cap of $217.82 billion, a PE ratio of 25.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.72.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The company had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.17 EPS. McDonald’s’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 56.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total transaction of $371,893.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,285.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $285,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,557,060. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total value of $371,893.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $387,285.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,958 shares of company stock valued at $7,032,111. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 599,745 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,347,048 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,178,474,000 after purchasing an additional 987,099 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,567,030,000 after purchasing an additional 188,888 shares during the period. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 141,160.9% in the 4th quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 5,613,710 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,664,521,000 after purchasing an additional 5,609,736 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,542,550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193,769 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.