McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) Upgraded to Buy at The Goldman Sachs Group

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a $345.00 price target on the fast-food giant's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price target indicates a potential upside of 17.61% from the company's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Erste Group Bank cut shares of McDonald's from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $345.00 price target (up from $340.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of McDonald's from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $324.00 price target (down previously from $329.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on McDonald's from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald's presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $322.29.

McDonald's Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of McDonald's stock opened at $293.33 on Thursday. McDonald's has a twelve month low of $245.90 and a twelve month high of $326.32. The stock has a market cap of $209.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $304.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $302.39.

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 for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.67. The company had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.17 billion. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 195.27% and a net margin of 31.75%. The company's revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.70 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that McDonald's will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at McDonald's

In other McDonald's news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,222 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,949,251.44. The trade was a 8.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 2,817 shares of company stock worth $865,843 over the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald's

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MCD. Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the first quarter worth about $26,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in McDonald's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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