Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Stock Price

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price objective raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $340.00 to $345.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the fast-food giant’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Melius assumed coverage on McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on McDonald’s from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, October 20th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $323.91.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

McDonald’s stock traded up $1.30 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $299.71. 3,247,828 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,452,741. The stock has a market cap of $213.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.50. McDonald’s has a 12-month low of $276.53 and a 12-month high of $326.32. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $304.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $305.20.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.33 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.10 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 225.52% and a net margin of 32.21%.McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a $1.86 dividend. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 13,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.42, for a total transaction of $3,945,716.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,383,734.52. This trade represents a 74.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $310,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 99 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,690. This represents a 90.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,134 shares of company stock worth $4,570,716. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $418,000. CFO4Life Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.1% during the third quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 1,669 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Harold Davidson & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 44.3% in the third quarter. Harold Davidson & Associates Inc. now owns 7,137 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,169,000 after purchasing an additional 2,192 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in McDonald’s by 0.5% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 97,433 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $29,612,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiscal Wisdom Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth about $675,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.