McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Raised to Buy at Citigroup

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $334.00 price target on the fast-food giant’s stock, up from their previous price target of $311.00. Citigroup’s target price suggests a potential upside of 18.35% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on MCD. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America raised their price target on McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $321.39.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $282.22 on Friday. McDonald’s has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $317.90. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $293.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $286.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.24 billion, a PE ratio of 24.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s will post 11.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total transaction of $436,134.05. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,882. This trade represents a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value of $989,121.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,807,201.25. The trade was a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,050 shares of company stock worth $3,556,688 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 31,151.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $706,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,311,721 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 542.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $244,174,000 after purchasing an additional 677,139 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth about $110,321,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $121,254,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,216,677,000 after purchasing an additional 354,196 shares in the last quarter. 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.