Citigroup Issues Positive Forecast for McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) Stock Price

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by investment analysts at Citigroup from $353.00 to $364.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the fast-food giant's stock. Citigroup's price objective indicates a potential upside of 16.75% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on MCD. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of McDonald's from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $347.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler increased their target price on McDonald's from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald's in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded McDonald's from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $325.26.

McDonald's Trading Down 0.6 %

MCD traded down $1.86 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $311.78. 3,993,672 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,567,019. The firm has a market cap of $222.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. McDonald's has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $326.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $309.14 and a 200 day moving average of $300.09.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.70 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that McDonald's will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at McDonald's

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $286,395.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,978 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,263,290. The trade was a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.60, for a total transaction of $334,755.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $475,176. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,136 shares of company stock worth $8,676,247 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of McDonald's

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald's during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Company Profile

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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