McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) Receives $339.38 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-two research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have assigned a hold recommendation and seventeen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $340.9310.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MCD shares. Argus upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Thursday, February 12th.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 333 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.72, for a total transaction of $100,805.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,067 shares in the company, valued at $2,442,042.24. The trade was a 3.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 4,692 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.00, for a total transaction of $1,553,052.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 6,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,052,200. This trade represents a 43.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,990 shares of company stock valued at $23,824,113. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,351,127 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $22,112,675,000 after buying an additional 703,458 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,983,997 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $10,997,789,000 after purchasing an additional 959,140 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,038,519 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $5,195,965,000 after purchasing an additional 76,090 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,474,749 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,895,768,000 after purchasing an additional 277,617 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,890,438,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of MCD opened at $302.82 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $215.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.34, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day moving average of $317.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $311.81. McDonald’s has a 12-month low of $283.47 and a 12-month high of $341.75.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.81 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.85% and a negative return on equity of 343.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.83 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that McDonald’s will post 13.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.26%.

Trending Headlines about McDonald’s

Here are the key news stories impacting McDonald’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New nationwide value menu and $3 menu rollout should support traffic and AUVs by making pricing more competitive and simplifying promotional offers. McDonald’s new value menu debuts today
• Positive Sentiment: Menu revamp across ~17 items and added “protein” badges responds to shifting consumer demand (incl. GLP‑1 trends) — this product alignment can protect menu relevance and sales per guest. McDonald’s revamps menu across 17 items as GLP-1 use surges
• Positive Sentiment: New promotional tie-ins (Stranger Things Happy Meal) and refreshed beverage/soda items are near-term demand drivers and brand-relevance plays. McDonald’s introducing new ‘Stranger Things’ Happy Meal
• Positive Sentiment: Company added more U.S. restaurants in 2025 than any year since 2002 — a renewal of unit-growth tailwinds after a low-growth period. McDonald’s added a lot of new U.S. restaurants in 2025
• Neutral Sentiment: Some models still target upside (24/7 Wall St. $341 PT) but note execution “cracks” — mixed signals for valuation drivers. McDonald’s Price Target Hits $341—But Cracks Are Starting to Show
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC expects Q1 roughly in line with Street — reduces the chance of a major earnings surprise in the near term. McDonald’s Seen Posting Largely In-Line First-Quarter Results, RBC Says
• Neutral Sentiment: Options commentary suggests retail traders see limited downside and are selling premium via spreads — market participants positioning for muted volatility. Selling A Spread On McDonald’s Stock Could Deliver A Big Mac-Sized Return
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale: President of McDonald’s USA, Joseph M. Erlinger, sold 333 shares (~$100.8k) — small in scale but visible to investors and sometimes viewed as a mild negative signal. Insider Form 4 filing
• Negative Sentiment: KeyCorp lowered expectations for MCD’s stock price — an analyst downgrade or lower target can weigh on sentiment. KeyCorp Lowers Expectations
• Negative Sentiment: Brand/IP risk: USPTO has questioned McDonald’s attempt to reclaim “Extra Value Meal” as a trademark — potential loss of branding control on a core promotional term. McDonald’s fights to win back ‘Extra Value Meal’ moniker
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory / reputational watch: equality watchdog says work with McDonald’s on sexual‑harassment prevention is “ongoing,” signalling potential reputational or compliance risk. Equality watchdog update

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is a global quick-service restaurant company best known for its hamburgers, French fries and breakfast offerings. The company develops, operates and franchises a system of restaurants that sell a range of food and beverage items, including signature products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, McCafé coffee beverages and a variety of salads, desserts and seasonal menu items. McDonald’s serves customers through company-operated restaurants and franchised locations, and it supports sales via dine-in, drive-thru, digital ordering platforms and third-party delivery partnerships.

Founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald as a single San Bernardino, California restaurant, the business was transformed into a franchising model after Ray Kroc joined in the mid-1950s and led the brand’s national and international expansion.