Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Stock

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its target price raised by analysts at Citigroup from $336.00 to $360.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the fast-food giant’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 17.08% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on MCD. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $336.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $342.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.61.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $307.47 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $220.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $291.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $291.97.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. On average, analysts anticipate that McDonald’s will post 11.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total value of $436,134.05. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,882. The trade was a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total transaction of $321,457.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,155. This trade represents a 10.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,406 shares of company stock valued at $2,150,857. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Riversedge Advisors LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 2.0% during the third quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 1.0% during the third quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,472 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 2.8% during the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. GDS Wealth Management increased its stake in McDonald’s by 1.4% during the third quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 2,504 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boltwood Capital Management increased its stake in McDonald’s by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 1,882 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.