BTIG Research Lowers McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Price Target to $350.00

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price objective cut by stock analysts at BTIG Research from $370.00 to $350.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the fast-food giant’s stock. BTIG Research’s target price indicates a potential upside of 33.23% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MCD. Weiss Ratings cut shares of McDonald’s from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $334.32.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $262.70 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $186.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.41. McDonald’s has a twelve month low of $260.96 and a twelve month high of $341.75. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $276.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $299.11.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.47 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 442.10% and a net margin of 31.62%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 5,252 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.32, for a total transaction of $1,493,248.64. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,198,930.88. The trade was a 40.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,763 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.36, for a total value of $769,108.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,268 shares in the company, valued at $1,744,760.48. The trade was a 30.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,348 shares of company stock worth $2,355,634. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Norges Bank acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,890,438,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 30,979.0% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,596,340 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $806,917,000 after acquiring an additional 2,587,986 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 9,867.5% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,541,008 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $776,608,000 after acquiring an additional 2,515,515 shares during the period. Viking Global Investors LP raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 171.7% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 3,125,432 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $913,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974,998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in McDonald’s by 49.9% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,104,337 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $948,779,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033,041 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

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.