McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) Stock Rating Lowered by Northcoast Research

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Northcoast Research from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Wedbush raised their price objective on McDonald's from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of McDonald's from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on McDonald's from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of McDonald's from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $325.91.

McDonald's Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $313.75. 1,917,256 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,556,520. The company has a market capitalization of $224.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.55, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57. 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 is $310.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $300.12.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.70 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that McDonald's will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the firm'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 value of $299,071.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,853,850. This trade represents a 7.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,136 shares of company stock valued at $8,676,247 over the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald's

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCD. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in McDonald's by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 12,723 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $3,688,000 after buying an additional 1,672 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,433 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $2,445,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new position in McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth $377,000. Bath Savings Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of McDonald's by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 34,089 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $9,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares during the period. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 299.4% in the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 10,473 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $3,036,000 after acquiring an additional 7,851 shares during the period. 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.