McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the thirty-two brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $339.6897.

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $372.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Mizuho raised their target price 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $356.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $360.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 26,276 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.54, for a total value of $8,764,097.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,638,066. This represents a 53.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 6,201 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.29, for a total value of $2,066,731.29. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $763,567.39. This trade represents a 73.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 71,657 shares of company stock valued at $23,722,204. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter worth approximately $2,780,712,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its stake in McDonald’s by 9,867.5% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,541,008 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $776,608,000 after purchasing an additional 2,515,515 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP grew its stake in McDonald’s by 171.7% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 3,125,432 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $913,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974,998 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 96.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 4,032,676 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,188,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974,751 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in McDonald’s by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,396,837 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,336,155,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179,244 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $309.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $219.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $321.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $311.50. McDonald’s has a one year low of $283.47 and a one year high of $341.75.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.07. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 343.90% and a net margin of 31.85%.The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.26%.

More McDonald’s News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Major new pop-culture push — McDonald’s launched two “adult” Happy Meals and five new menu items tied to Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters, a cross-promotional campaign expected to drive traffic and social buzz. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue upside potential — Coverage estimates the KPop Demon Hunters promotion could generate large incremental sales (one headline projects up to ~$100M in a short window), supporting near-term top-line upside. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Fund manager endorsement — A portfolio manager publicly favored MCD over high-growth names like NVDA on valuation/stability grounds, which can attract defensive money into the stock. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Operational efficiency story — McDonald’s Force in France said it improved finance/ad operations with Esker automation, implying lower costs and better ROI on ad spends. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Brand/product buzz — Multiple outlets covered the menu launches and local rollouts (Chicago, toy tie-ins), which boosts awareness but does not guarantee sustained comp growth. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent price action/history — MCD had traded higher recently (closed up recent session), but today’s move shows profit-taking/volatility after those gains. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Technical/flow headwind — Analysts flagged MCD as oversold on RSI readings recently, signaling heavy selling pressure and potential short-term volatility despite fundamentals. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Questionable LTO effectiveness — Industry commentary suggests limited-time offers may be less effective than in the past, which could cap the long-term lift from promotional tie-ins. 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.