Citigroup Cuts McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Price Target to $297.00

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price target decreased by Citigroup from $312.00 to $297.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the fast-food giant’s stock.

MCD has been the topic of several other reports. Wedbush reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. BTIG Research cut shares of McDonald’s from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. HSBC started coverage on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. They set a buy rating and a $317.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a market perform rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $319.72.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.4 %

MCD opened at $270.98 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $283.44 and a 200 day moving average of $280.62. The company has a market cap of $195.38 billion, a PE ratio of 23.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s has a 12 month low of $245.73 and a 12 month high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.12. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.22% and a negative return on equity of 171.96%. The business had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.59 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that McDonald’s will post 12.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 57.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MCD. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Retirement Group LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Company Profile

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.