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

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price objective cut by stock analysts at Barclays from $380.00 to $350.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the fast-food giant’s stock. Barclays‘s target price points to a potential upside of 24.72% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on MCD. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $345.00 to $330.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $336.10.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

McDonald’s stock traded down $3.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $280.63. 1,634,419 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,349,441. McDonald’s has a one year low of $278.60 and a one year high of $341.75. The stock has a market cap of $199.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $311.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $311.40.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.47 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.85% and a negative return on equity of 343.90%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 13.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 6,201 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.29, for a total value of $2,066,731.29. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,291 shares in the company, valued at $763,567.39. The trade was a 73.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 26,276 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.54, for a total transaction of $8,764,097.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,638,066. The trade was a 53.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 71,990 shares of company stock valued at $23,824,113 over the last 90 days. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $614,000. HORAN Wealth LLC raised its stake in McDonald’s by 81.4% during the 1st quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC now owns 3,026 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $930,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358 shares during the period. DJE Kapital AG raised its stake in McDonald’s by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. DJE Kapital AG now owns 45,617 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $14,139,000 after acquiring an additional 5,200 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 995.1% during the 1st quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 87,171 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $27,092,000 after buying an additional 79,211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Summit Asset Management LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting McDonald’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings and revenue beat expectations — EPS of $2.83 and revenue of ~$6.52B, driven by global comparable-sales growth, loyalty and higher check sizes, which underpinned a recent rally in the shares. McDONALD’S REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2026 RESULTS
• Positive Sentiment: Product and beverage momentum — the viral “Big Arch” burger, new specialty drinks and an entry into a large beverage market are boosting traffic and higher-margin mix, supporting medium-term growth potential. McDonald’s focus on value and a big new burger drive sales in the first quarter
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish analyst support remains — BTIG reaffirmed a “buy” with a $370 target, signaling continued upside from some buy-side research despite mixed PT moves elsewhere. Benzinga coverage of analyst ratings
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed price-target revisions — KeyCorp trimmed its target (still “overweight”) and TD Cowen cut its target and moved to “hold,” leaving a range of analyst views that could limit near-term upside until clarity on consumer trends. Benzinga: analyst price-target changes
• Negative Sentiment: Management warning on consumer weakness and gas prices — CEO/Chair Chris Kempczinski cautioned that higher gasoline costs could disproportionately hit lower?income customers and reduce discretionary restaurant visits, raising near-term demand risk. McDonald’s posts strong earnings — but viral CEO warns gas prices may take bite out of future profits
• Negative Sentiment: Reputational/competitive headwinds — press about customer pushback and stronger competition (e.g., Burger King) creates execution risk around maintaining traffic and pricing power. McDonald’s Is Facing Intense Pushback After It Did What No Company Should Ever Do

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.