Robert W. Baird Raises McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Price Target to $325.00

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price objective upped by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird from $322.00 to $325.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the fast-food giant’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 7.75% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Mizuho raised shares of McDonald’s to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Melius assumed coverage on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, July 14th. They set a “sell” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $323.91.

McDonald’s Stock Down 1.3%

McDonald’s stock traded down $4.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $301.62. The company had a trading volume of 1,080,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,441,754. McDonald’s has a 52 week low of $276.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The company has a 50 day moving average of $304.94 and a 200-day moving average of $305.25. The firm has a market cap of $215.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.50.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.11). McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.21% and a negative return on equity of 225.52%. The company had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.10 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $310,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 99 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,690. The trade was a 90.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $315,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 6,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,160,270. This represents a 12.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.4% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 102,422 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $31,125,000 after buying an additional 1,365 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.0% in the third quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 4,490 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,365,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Liberty Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.6% in the third quarter. Liberty Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,382 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $5,890,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 45.9% in the third quarter. BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,438 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $741,000 after buying an additional 767 shares during the period. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.4% in the third quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 500,983 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $152,244,000 after buying an additional 1,969 shares during the period. 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, Spain, and the U.K.