KeyCorp Boosts McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Price Target to $340.00

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price target upped by KeyCorp from $335.00 to $340.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the fast-food giant’s stock. KeyCorp’s price target points to a potential upside of 8.49% from the stock’s previous close.

MCD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Erste Group Bank upgraded McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $313.39 on Thursday. McDonald’s has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32. The stock has a market cap of $223.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $300.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $297.89.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. On average, equities research analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. This trade represents a 15.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,405 shares of company stock valued at $9,886,656 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at $2,725,190,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $703,074,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth about $350,935,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in McDonald’s by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,570,511,000 after purchasing an additional 895,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,054,387 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,175,326,000 after buying an additional 794,536 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

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.