McDonald's' (MCD) Equal Weight Rating Reaffirmed at Morgan Stanley

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "equal weight" rating reiterated by research analysts at Morgan Stanley in a research report issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $324.00 price objective on the fast-food giant's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would indicate a potential upside of 7.61% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on MCD. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on McDonald's from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Thursday. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $346.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on McDonald's from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald's presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $324.48.

McDonald's Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD traded down $6.28 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $301.08. 859,533 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,487,597. McDonald's has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $326.32. The company's 50-day moving average price is $312.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $302.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $215.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.43, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.50, for a total transaction of $299,071.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,853,850. This represents a 7.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of McDonald's

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,286 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $2,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,649 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth $64,805,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald's by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,942 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD raised its position in shares of McDonald's by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 19,735 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $5,721,000 after purchasing an additional 1,827 shares during the period. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in McDonald's by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,544 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,027,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

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.