McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) PT Lowered to $315.00 at Guggenheim

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price target reduced by Guggenheim from $325.00 to $315.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the fast-food giant’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $291.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on McDonald’s from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut McDonald’s from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $317.74.

McDonald’s Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $270.32 on Thursday. McDonald’s has a 12-month low of $245.73 and a 12-month high of $302.39. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $279.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $282.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.95, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.71.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.71%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 51.9% during the third quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

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.