Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Stock

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its target price hoisted by stock analysts at Barclays from $358.00 to $372.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the fast-food giant’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 20.42% from the stock’s previous close.

MCD has been the subject of several other reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $322.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $372.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $328.68.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD stock opened at $308.92 on Wednesday. McDonald’s has a 1 year low of $276.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.00 billion, a PE ratio of 26.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $307.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $304.66.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.11). McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 280.89% and a net margin of 32.04%.The company had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,486 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total transaction of $795,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,005,760. This represents a 28.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 13,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.42, for a total transaction of $3,945,716.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,383,734.52. This represents a 74.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,516 shares of company stock valued at $13,036,090. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,647,669 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $21,773,010,000 after purchasing an additional 316,638 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,024,857 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $10,643,704,000 after buying an additional 196,505 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,828,420 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,901,595,000 after acquiring an additional 276,065 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the second quarter worth approximately $2,780,712,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 29,382.3% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,737,548 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,676,339,000 after acquiring an additional 5,718,087 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting McDonald’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target substantially to $372 and kept an overweight rating, signaling stronger analyst confidence and providing upside to the stock. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an overweight rating on MCD, supporting continued buy-side interest. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: TD Cowen maintained a “hold” with a $320 target (small upside vs. current levels), a reminder some analysts see more moderate near-term returns. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s announced new and returning global menu items for 2026 (including promotional tie-ins like Pokémon Happy Meals and returning Pokémon cards), which can boost traffic and seasonal sales. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Specific marketing promos—Pokémon Happy Meals and collectible cards—are confirmed for 2026, a low-cost demand driver that typically lifts transactions and visit frequency. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: McDonald’s is changing its drive-thrus (operational changes could improve throughput and margins but require rollout and capex). Investors should watch execution and cost timing. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Local store-level activity: a Biltmore McDonald’s grand opening drew attention but is a small, localized sales event. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple lawsuits allege misleading McRib ingredients (claims about offal/pork heart/tripe), raising reputational and potential litigation risk that could pressure same-store sales or incur legal costs if escalated. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Follow-up reporting details the suit’s ingredient allegations in depth; investors should monitor legal filings and any regulatory attention. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Unions accuse McDonald’s of repeated harassment of largely teenage staff—labor and PR headwinds that could increase scrutiny and potential costs if organizing or fines follow. Read More.

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.