Bank of America Issues Positive Forecast for McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Stock Price

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its target price hoisted by Bank of America from $312.00 to $316.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the fast-food giant’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on MCD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup upped their price target on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $310.16 on Tuesday. McDonald’s has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.27 billion, a PE ratio of 27.23, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $291.02 and its 200-day moving average is $291.56.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that McDonald’s will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,214,275.25. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total value of $436,134.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $453,882. The trade was a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,406 shares of company stock valued at $2,150,857. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth about $703,074,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in McDonald’s by 31,151.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $706,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,311,721 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 542.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $244,174,000 after purchasing an additional 677,139 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 43,591.6% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 590,711 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $171,241,000 after purchasing an additional 589,359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $20,341,391,000 after buying an additional 526,466 shares during the last quarter. 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, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.