Guggenheim Cuts McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Price Target to $315.00

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price objective lowered by Guggenheim from $325.00 to $315.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the fast-food giant’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Argus reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, March 25th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an outperform rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $317.74.

McDonald’s Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of MCD opened at $270.32 on Thursday. McDonald’s has a twelve month low of $245.73 and a twelve month high of $302.39. The company has a market cap of $194.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $279.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $282.35.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 180.54% and a net margin of 33.36%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.63 EPS. Analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 12.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 56.71%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,140,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA grew its stake in McDonald’s by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 155,740 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $46,179,000 after acquiring an additional 2,546 shares during the period. Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC grew its stake in McDonald’s by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC now owns 1,051 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 80,441 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $21,191,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services now owns 11,025 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,269,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mengis Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,522 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.