TD Cowen Has Lowered Expectations for McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) Stock Price

Key Points

• TD Cowen cut its price target on McDonald's from $330 to $300 and kept a "hold" rating, implying only about a 5.7% upside; MarketBeat's consensus rating is also "Hold" with an average target of $340.24.
• Q1 earnings beat: McDonald's reported EPS of $2.83 (vs. $2.74 expected) and $6.52B revenue, driven by value-focused marketing and a viral limited-time product, while management cites aggressive expansion in China (~10,000 locations by end‑2028) as a key growth catalyst.
• Insider activity shows notable selling (including the CEO and CMO) with 71,990 shares sold worth ~$23.8M last quarter, even as institutional investors hold about 70.3% of the stock and made large recent purchases.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by research analysts at TD Cowen from $330.00 to $300.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "hold" rating on the fast-food giant's stock. TD Cowen's price objective points to a potential upside of 5.68% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of McDonald's from $335.00 to $334.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of McDonald's from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of McDonald's from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of McDonald's from $356.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of McDonald's from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald's currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $340.24.

McDonald's Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $283.87. 6,585,334 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,357,969. McDonald's has a 52 week low of $282.15 and a 52 week high of $341.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $312.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $311.57. The company has a market cap of $201.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.75, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.43.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.09. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.85% and a negative return on equity of 343.90%. The firm had revenue of $6.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.67 earnings per share. McDonald's's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that McDonald's will post 13.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald's news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 4,692 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.00, for a total transaction of $1,553,052.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 6,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,052,200. The trade was a 43.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 26,276 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.54, for a total value of $8,764,097.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,638,066. The trade was a 53.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 71,990 shares of company stock worth $23,824,113 in the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of McDonald's

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in McDonald's during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,890,438,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in McDonald's by 30,979.0% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,596,340 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $806,917,000 after acquiring an additional 2,587,986 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its stake in McDonald's by 9,867.5% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,541,008 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $776,608,000 after acquiring an additional 2,515,515 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP grew its stake in McDonald's by 171.7% during the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 3,125,432 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $913,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,974,998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in McDonald's by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,396,837 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,336,155,000 after acquiring an additional 1,179,244 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting McDonald's

Here are the key news stories impacting McDonald's this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings and revenue beat consensus — adjusted EPS $2.83 vs. ~$2.74 expected and revenue $6.52B, backed by global comparable sales growth and rising systemwide/loyalty sales. This is the primary driver of the stock strength. McDONALD'S REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2026 RESULTS
• Positive Sentiment: Value-focused marketing and a viral limited-time product (the "Big Arch" burger) helped drive U.S. comps and traffic, showing the company can offset a soft consumer backdrop with promotions and menu buzz. McDonald's focus on value and a big new burger drive sales in the first quarter
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term growth catalyst: McDonald’s plans to aggressively expand in China (targeting ~10,000 locations by end-2028), making the market a major growth lever even as some peers retreat. While many international brands retreat, McDonald's is supersizing its China business
• Neutral Sentiment: Options and trading activity have picked up after the print (and beat), indicating increased short-term positioning and volatility expectations among traders. Options Traders Eyeing 2 Burger Giants After Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Management warned consumer caution is rising and higher gas prices could pressure lower-income customers and future comps — a potential drag if energy costs remain elevated or the macro slowdown deepens. McDonald's CEO: Consumer Caution Drives Demand for Value
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive dynamics: rivals like Burger King and others are improving performance in some markets, which could pressure share and margins regionally. Burger King eyes taking on McDonald's Egg McMuffin

About McDonald's

McDonald's Corporation NYSE: MCD is a global quick-service restaurant company best known for its hamburgers, French fries and breakfast offerings. The company develops, operates and franchises a system of restaurants that sell a range of food and beverage items, including signature products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, McCafé coffee beverages and a variety of salads, desserts and seasonal menu items. McDonald's serves customers through company-operated restaurants and franchised locations, and it supports sales via dine-in, drive-thru, digital ordering platforms and third-party delivery partnerships.

Founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald as a single San Bernardino, California restaurant, the business was transformed into a franchising model after Ray Kroc joined in the mid-1950s and led the brand's national and international expansion.

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