McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Price Target Lowered to $300.00 at Wedbush

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price objective trimmed by Wedbush from $330.00 to $300.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the fast-food giant’s stock. Wedbush also issued estimates for McDonald’s’ Q2 2024 earnings at $3.15 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $3.35 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.97 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $3.46 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $3.53 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $3.28 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $13.25 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on MCD. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on McDonald’s from $345.00 to $340.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $343.00 to $340.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. BTIG Research lowered shares of McDonald’s from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an outperform rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $318.41.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $273.57 on Friday. McDonald’s has a fifty-two week low of $245.73 and a fifty-two week high of $302.39. The company’s fifty day moving average is $281.31 and its 200 day moving average is $282.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.25 billion, a PE ratio of 23.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.12. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.22% and a negative return on equity of 171.96%. The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.59 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that McDonald’s will post 12.34 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its stake in McDonald’s by 8.4% during the first quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 915 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 57,792 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $16,294,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 1,268 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 17,748 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $5,004,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Finally, Crew Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the first quarter valued at about $407,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.