McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) Receives $328.88 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirty-one analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, sixteen have assigned a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $328.88.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on McDonald’s from $322.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Guggenheim increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $295.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company.

Key Stories Impacting McDonald’s

Here are the key news stories impacting McDonald’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst take: a recent Motley Fool piece argues MCD lagged 2025’s rally but could be close to a rare corporate milestone that would justify upside, making shares look attractive to some investors. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s Canada locked $5 meal pricing for a full year — a rare, consumer-friendly move that should support traffic and PR in a key market, though it may pressure short-term margins. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s is expanding marketing promotions (Pokémon Happy Meal return) and new menu stunts (its biggest burger), both likely to drive traffic and incremental sales in the near term. Article Title Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Company-level initiatives: reports highlight a push to use AI across services and operations — a potential source of longer-term cost savings and efficiency gains that investors typically reward. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: International resilience noted by analysts: Zacks highlights that disciplined value, local marketing and scale are supporting comparable sales outside the U.S., helping offset broader QSR pressure. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Franchise partner news: Armada named new leaders for its McDonald’s business unit — organizational change that could affect go-to-market execution but is not a direct corporate earnings driver. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Product chatter: social and local media note new snack-wrap competition and consumer buzz—helpful for brand engagement but limited direct impact on near-term financials. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings preview: previews suggest McDonald’s upcoming quarterly report is expected to show single-digit bottom-line growth — a modest outlook that leaves room for beats or misses to move the stock. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: President of International Oper. Joseph M. Erlinger sold 2,626 shares (~$805k) and trimmed his position by ~33%, a disclosure that some investors view as a negative signal about near-term insider conviction. SEC Filing

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,486 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total value of $795,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,005,760. This represents a 28.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 3,195 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.82, for a total value of $977,094.90. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 6,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,861,832.16. This represents a 34.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 45,142 shares of company stock worth $13,841,169 in the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 9,079 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,775,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Accurate Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,732 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,377,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Net Worth Advisory Group lifted its position in McDonald’s by 49.2% during the fourth quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 3,163 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $967,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043 shares during the last quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 11,306 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,456,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,241 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $10,465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,228 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of MCD opened at $309.43 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.53. McDonald’s has a 12 month low of $276.53 and a 12 month high of $326.32. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $308.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $305.28.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.33 by ($0.11). McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 280.89% and a net margin of 32.04%.The business had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $1.86 dividend. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.48%.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is a global quick-service restaurant company best known for its hamburgers, French fries and breakfast offerings. The company develops, operates and franchises a system of restaurants that sell a range of food and beverage items, including signature products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, McCafé coffee beverages and a variety of salads, desserts and seasonal menu items. McDonald’s serves customers through company-operated restaurants and franchised locations, and it supports sales via dine-in, drive-thru, digital ordering platforms and third-party delivery partnerships.

Founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald as a single San Bernardino, California restaurant, the business was transformed into a franchising model after Ray Kroc joined in the mid-1950s and led the brand’s national and international expansion.