Wells Fargo & Company Increases McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Price Target to $350.00

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its target price hoisted by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $285.00 to $350.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the fast-food giant’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 11.23% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.52.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.1 %

MCD stock opened at $314.65 on Monday. McDonald’s has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $296.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $274.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 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 business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.17 EPS. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that McDonald’s will post 11.71 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,721.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,721.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at $14,966,996.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,998 shares of company stock worth $9,935,493. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,612,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its position 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 worth $35,194,000 after purchasing an additional 51,210 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,898,000. First Long Island Investors LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC now owns 54,021 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $15,231,000 after purchasing an additional 7,707 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 269.8% in the 1st quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,702 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,299,000 after acquiring an additional 8,538 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

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.