Bank of America Issues Pessimistic Forecast for McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) Stock Price

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by research analysts at Bank of America from $327.00 to $322.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the fast-food giant's stock. Bank of America's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 7.58% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. BTIG Research restated a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Erste Group Bank lowered McDonald's from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on McDonald's from $364.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on McDonald's from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $346.00 to $315.00 in a report on Friday, June 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald's has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $319.72.

McDonald's Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD traded down $1.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $299.32. 449,900 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,515,647. McDonald's has a 52 week low of $246.12 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $302.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $302.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $214.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.53.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.17 billion. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 195.27% and a net margin of 31.75%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.70 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald's will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at McDonald's

In other McDonald's news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.52, for a total transaction of $270,920.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,222 shares in the company, valued at $2,949,251.44. This trade represents a 8.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 8,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,657,400. This represents a 10.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,817 shares of company stock worth $1,165,843 in the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald's

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in McDonald's by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,409,095 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $21,993,689,000 after purchasing an additional 239,753 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of McDonald's by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,074,438 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $4,652,768,000 after acquiring an additional 157,458 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of McDonald's by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,652,445 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $3,088,037,000 after acquiring an additional 531,070 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of McDonald's in the 4th quarter worth $2,725,190,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of McDonald's by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,341,460 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $2,917,993,000 after acquiring an additional 1,344,954 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About McDonald's

McDonald's Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.

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