McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Stock Rating Lowered by Baird R W

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Baird R W from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $318.22.

McDonald’s Price Performance

McDonald’s stock opened at $301.61 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $217.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.60, a PEG ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73. McDonald’s has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $296.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $274.51.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.17 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that McDonald’s will post 11.71 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,966,996.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,998 shares of company stock valued at $9,935,493 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MCD. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 32.3% during the first quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 176 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the first quarter valued at about $69,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.