McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Price Target Cut to $315.00 by Analysts at Guggenheim

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its target price cut by Guggenheim from $325.00 to $315.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the fast-food giant’s stock.

MCD has been the subject of a number of other reports. KeyCorp cut their price target on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $310.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. BTIG Research cut McDonald’s from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Stephens restated an overweight rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $317.74.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $270.32 on Thursday. McDonald’s has a fifty-two week low of $245.73 and a fifty-two week high of $302.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $279.53 and a 200 day moving average of $282.76. The firm has a market cap of $194.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.36% and a negative return on equity of 180.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.63 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 12.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.71%.

Insider Activity

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,696,517.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MCD. Independent Wealth Network Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 863 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Concentric Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Concentric Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,551 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 1,374 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Mechanics Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 5,331 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,581,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,268 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.