McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Price Target Cut to $345.00 by Analysts at KeyCorp

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its target price reduced by KeyCorp from $354.00 to $345.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the fast-food giant’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on MCD. BTIG Research lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Argus raised McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $339.38.

McDonald’s Stock Down 1.4%

McDonald’s stock opened at $306.91 on Monday. McDonald’s has a 52 week low of $283.47 and a 52 week high of $341.75. The company has a market capitalization of $218.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $319.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $311.95.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.07. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 343.90% and a net margin of 31.85%.The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s will post 13.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 6,201 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.29, for a total transaction of $2,066,731.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $763,567.39. This represents a 73.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 2,626 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.25, for a total value of $854,106.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,755,699.50. The trade was a 32.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,657 shares of company stock valued at $23,723,307. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,286 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,649 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,942 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 11.4% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,017 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. United Bank increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 6.0% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 8,102 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,367,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.5% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 12,938 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,780,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting McDonald’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street reacts favorably to McDonald’s new lower‑priced offering — UBS says the upcoming $3 menu reinforces McDonald’s value proposition and could support traffic and same‑store sales. McDonald’s $3 menu is about to kick off
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and investors are bracing for the Q1 print — coverage notes McDonald’s will report quarterly results soon and consensus expects single‑digit EPS growth, which could limit upside unless the company provides stronger guidance. What You Need to Know Ahead of McDonald’s Earnings Release
• Neutral Sentiment: KeyCorp trimmed its price target from $354 to $345 but kept an Overweight rating — the cut narrows upside but the positive rating signals continued analyst confidence. Benzinga coverage of KeyCorp PT change
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate and brand stories (donations, product features, historical pieces) are circulating but are unlikely to move the stock materially in the near term. Examples: a local McDonald’s charitable donation and several feature stories on menu items and company history. Evgeni Malkin and Local McDonald’s Donate
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term selling pressure: market commentary attributes the stock’s decline to profit‑taking and investors positioning ahead of earnings; pieces note MCD underperformed the broader market in the latest session. Here’s Why McDonald’s (MCD) Fell
• Negative Sentiment: Another recap of the intraday weakness appeared in Zacks, echoing the same short‑term drivers (profit‑taking, positioning). Watch for any catalyst in the earnings release that could deepen the move. Zacks: Here’s Why McDonald’s Fell

About McDonald’s

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is a global quick-service restaurant company best known for its hamburgers, French fries and breakfast offerings. The company develops, operates and franchises a system of restaurants that sell a range of food and beverage items, including signature products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, McCafé coffee beverages and a variety of salads, desserts and seasonal menu items. McDonald’s serves customers through company-operated restaurants and franchised locations, and it supports sales via dine-in, drive-thru, digital ordering platforms and third-party delivery partnerships.

Founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald as a single San Bernardino, California restaurant, the business was transformed into a franchising model after Ray Kroc joined in the mid-1950s and led the brand’s national and international expansion.