Loop Capital Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD)

Loop Capital reiterated their buy rating on shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $342.00 price objective on the fast-food giant’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on MCD. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Guggenheim downgraded McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.65.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $294.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.73. McDonald’s has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $317.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $294.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $285.42.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.19 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s will post 11.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total transaction of $321,325.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,036,366.30. The trade was a 9.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $727,260.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 2,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,550. This represents a 44.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,050 shares of company stock worth $3,556,688. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,394,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,694,403,000 after purchasing an additional 49,106 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 58.9% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 138,102 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $35,194,000 after acquiring an additional 51,210 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 6.5% in the third quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,186 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $14,978,000 after purchasing an additional 2,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter worth $16,870,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Company Profile

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.