McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Price Target Raised to $345.00 at UBS Group

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price objective upped by research analysts at UBS Group from $305.00 to $345.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the fast-food giant’s stock. UBS Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 13.55% from the stock’s previous close.

MCD has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, July 29th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.50.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCD traded up $1.94 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $303.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,854,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,393,154. The company has a market capitalization of $218.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.79, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.73. McDonald’s has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $306.96. The business’s 50-day moving average is $288.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $271.98.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.17 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 9,291 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $2,833,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,193,080. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total value of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 9,291 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $2,833,755.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,256 shares in the company, valued at $13,193,080. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,751 shares of company stock worth $9,493,973. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MCD. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the first quarter worth $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Keener Financial Planning LLC grew its stake in McDonald’s by 32.3% in the first quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 176 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About McDonald’s

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.