McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its target price lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $340.00 to $345.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the fast-food giant’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 15.11% from the stock’s previous close.

MCD has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $362.00 to $358.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $381.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.91.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE MCD opened at $299.71 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $304.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $305.13. McDonald’s has a twelve month low of $276.53 and a twelve month high of $326.32. The company has a market capitalization of $213.88 billion, a PE ratio of 25.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.50.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.33 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.10 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.21% and a negative return on equity of 225.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. Equities analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $310,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 99 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,690. This trade represents a 90.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $315,000.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 6,858 shares in the company, valued at $2,160,270. This trade represents a 12.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 15,134 shares of company stock worth $4,570,716. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $418,000. CFO4Life Group LLC raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 1,669 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Harold Davidson & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 44.3% during the 3rd quarter. Harold Davidson & Associates Inc. now owns 7,137 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,169,000 after buying an additional 2,192 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 97,433 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $29,612,000 after buying an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiscal Wisdom Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter worth approximately $675,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Company Profile

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.