JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) Price Target to $305.00

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut McDonald’s price target from $325 to $305 while keeping an overweight rating, implying about 11.34% upside from the current price.
• Despite the cut, McDonald’s still has broad analyst support overall, with a consensus Moderate Buy and an average price target of $334.45 across Wall Street coverage.
• The stock has been under pressure recently, trading near its 52-week low after falling to $273.94, even as the company posted Q1 earnings and revenue that beat estimates.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $325.00 to $305.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the fast-food giant's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price would indicate a potential upside of 11.34% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $360.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Cfra raised shares of McDonald's to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $345.00 to $330.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald's currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $334.45.

McDonald's Stock Performance

NYSE:MCD traded down $1.82 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $273.94. The stock had a trading volume of 1,846,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,380,784. McDonald's has a one year low of $273.18 and a one year high of $341.75. The company has a market cap of $194.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.43. The business's 50 day moving average is $311.40 and its 200-day moving average is $311.40.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.09. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.62% and a negative return on equity of 442.10%. The firm had revenue of $6.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.67 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald's will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald's

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 2,626 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.25, for a total value of $854,106.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,755,699.50. This trade represents a 32.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 26,277 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.35, for a total transaction of $8,706,883.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,587,915. This trade represents a 53.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,990 shares of company stock worth $23,824,113. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of McDonald's

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of McDonald's by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,351,127 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $22,112,675,000 after buying an additional 703,458 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in McDonald's by 2.7% during the fourth 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in McDonald's by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,038,519 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $5,195,965,000 after acquiring an additional 76,090 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in 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 worth $2,895,768,000 after acquiring an additional 277,617 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth about $2,890,438,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting McDonald's

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

• Positive Sentiment: Some commentators argue the recent selloff may be overdone, pointing to McDonald’s solid Q1 comparable-store sales growth and suggesting the stock could appeal to value-oriented investors after falling to multi-month lows.
• Positive Sentiment: McDonald's value-focused promotions continue to support traffic, and one recent article highlighted that the company’s pricing and menu strategy has helped lift sales despite a tougher consumer backdrop.
• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s long track record of dividend growth was also highlighted, with some investors viewing the stock as a durable dividend compounder despite near-term volatility.
• Neutral Sentiment: Articles about menu hacks, breakfast nostalgia, drive-thru etiquette, and modernization efforts such as phasing out self-serve soda machines are more consumer-interest driven than stock-moving.
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan cut its price target on McDonald’s to $305, marking the second analyst target reduction in two sessions and reinforcing concerns that the same-store-sales story may be stalling. JPMorgan Cuts McDonald's Price Target to $305: Is the Same-Store-Sales Story Stalling?
• Negative Sentiment: McDonald's CEO has warned about a possible consumer spending pullback, and one report noted gas prices could weigh on demand from lower-income customers, adding to fears of softer restaurant traffic.
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen also lowered its price target to $300, adding to the broader analyst caution around the stock.

McDonald's Company Profile

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.

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