McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Price Target Raised to $340.00 at Morgan Stanley

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price target upped by Morgan Stanley from $296.00 to $340.00 in a research note released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the fast-food giant’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. UBS Group increased their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Citigroup increased their target price on McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $314.92.

McDonald’s Stock Up 1.1 %

MCD stock opened at $313.32 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $225.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.60, a PEG ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $291.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $272.91. McDonald’s has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $315.36.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The business’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.17 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that McDonald’s will post 11.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 60.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $285,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,557,060. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $285,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,557,060. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,966,996.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,221,233 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capstone Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $238,000. Acorn Creek Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Regatta Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the third quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC now owns 9,699 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,953,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Keystone Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Keystone Wealth Services LLC now owns 1,813 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC now owns 1,503 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.