Citigroup Boosts McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) Price Target to $365.00

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $364.00 to $365.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the fast-food giant's stock. Citigroup's price objective points to a potential upside of 22.24% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial increased their target price on McDonald's from $350.00 to $356.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $324.00 price target (down previously from $329.00) on shares of McDonald's in a report on Monday, June 9th. Argus downgraded McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Erste Group Bank downgraded McDonald's from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald's presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $322.29.

McDonald's Price Performance

MCD traded up $5.58 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $298.60. 5,364,588 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,536,694. The business's 50 day moving average price is $304.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $302.39. The company has a market capitalization of $213.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.53. McDonald's has a 1 year low of $246.12 and a 1 year high of $326.32.

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 195.27% and a net margin of 31.75%. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.70 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that McDonald's will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 8,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,657,400. This trade represents a 10.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.52, for a total value of $270,920.28. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 10,222 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,949,251.44. The trade was a 8.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,817 shares of company stock valued at $1,165,843. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald's

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in McDonald's by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,409,095 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $21,993,689,000 after acquiring an additional 239,753 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,074,438 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $4,652,768,000 after buying an additional 157,458 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of McDonald's by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,652,445 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $3,088,037,000 after buying an additional 531,070 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of McDonald's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,725,190,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of McDonald's by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,341,460 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $2,917,993,000 after buying an additional 1,344,954 shares during the period. 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.