McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

Key Points

• Barclays raised McDonald's price target from $355.00 to $360.00, indicating a potential upside of 16.61% from its previous close.
• Despite the upgrade from Barclays, other analysts have recently downgraded their ratings on McDonald's, leading to a consensus rating of "Hold" with a price target of $324.48.
• McDonald's reported earnings of $3.19 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and generated $6.84 billion in revenue, up 5.4% year-over-year.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) had its price objective increased by Barclays from $355.00 to $360.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the fast-food giant's stock.

MCD has been the topic of several other research reports. Northcoast Research lowered McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on McDonald's from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Erste Group Bank lowered McDonald's from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on McDonald's from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Argus lowered McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $326.87.

McDonald's Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD traded down $2.29 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $305.62. 2,621,959 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,681,905. McDonald's has a twelve month low of $265.33 and a twelve month high of $326.32. The company has a market cap of $218.09 billion, a PE ratio of 26.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.52. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $298.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $304.33.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.04. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 225.52% and a net margin of 32.21%. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.97 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that McDonald's will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. McDonald's's payout ratio is 60.67%.

Insider Activity at McDonald's

In related news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 976 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.50, for a total value of $296,216.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 7,882 shares in the company, valued at $2,392,187. The trade was a 11.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $770,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,713,740. This trade represents a 22.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,280 shares of company stock worth $2,215,178 over the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of McDonald's

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. boosted its position in McDonald's by 142.9% during the second quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 85 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald's during the second quarter worth $25,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald's during the first quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald's during the first quarter worth $26,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.