McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Given New $301.00 Price Target at Citigroup

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price objective boosted by Citigroup from $275.00 to $301.00 in a research report report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the fast-food giant’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on MCD. TD Cowen lowered shares of McDonald’s from a buy rating to a hold rating and lowered their price target for the company from $285.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wedbush reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $300.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $306.11.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD opened at $296.66 on Friday. McDonald’s has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $302.39. The company has a market capitalization of $213.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $273.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $270.50.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The company had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s will post 11.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total value of $371,893.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $387,285.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total transaction of $371,893.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $387,285.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $285,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 14,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,842,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,291 shares of company stock valued at $1,689,073. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MCD. Norges Bank bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth $2,684,899,000. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 141,160.9% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 5,609,736 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 2,193,769 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $348,206,000. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 39.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,565,398 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,005,264,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012,534 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

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.