KeyCorp Issues Positive Forecast for McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Stock Price

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price objective raised by KeyCorp from $340.00 to $354.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the fast-food giant’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MCD. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $356.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $340.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price objective on McDonald’s from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $338.07.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $331.68 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $235.63 billion, a PE ratio of 27.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $317.21 and a 200-day moving average of $310.64. McDonald’s has a 52-week low of $283.47 and a 52-week high of $341.75.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.07. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.85% and a negative return on equity of 343.90%. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.83 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total value of $795,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,005,760. This trade represents a 28.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 26,276 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.54, for a total transaction of $8,764,097.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,638,066. This represents a 53.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 71,517 shares of company stock valued at $23,655,503 over the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,351,127 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $22,112,675,000 after purchasing an additional 703,458 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,983,997 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $10,997,789,000 after acquiring an additional 959,140 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,038,519 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $5,195,965,000 after acquiring an additional 76,090 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at $2,780,712,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,474,749 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,895,768,000 after acquiring an additional 277,617 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp raised its price target to $354 and reiterated an “overweight” rating, implying ~6.7% upside from the current price — a clear analyst bullish signal that can support the stock. KeyCorp raises price target
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large options flow: traders bought ~80,687 call contracts (a ~433% jump vs. average), indicating short-term bullish positioning by derivatives traders that can amplify upside moves.
• Positive Sentiment: Menu momentum from the “Big Arch” burger rollout and promotions (including $1 Egg McMuffin offers) is getting broad coverage and is being framed as incremental traffic and AUV support — a potential multi-quarter revenue tailwind. Menu momentum coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage consensus remains around “Hold” on average, signaling limited near-term analyst-driven upside and suggesting investors should expect mixed guidance from the sell side. Brokerage recommendations

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.