McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Given New $297.00 Price Target at Citigroup

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

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reiterated an outperform rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, BTIG Research cut shares of McDonald’s from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $319.72.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of MCD stock opened at $265.37 on Tuesday. McDonald’s has a 12-month low of $245.73 and a 12-month high of $302.39. The company has a market capitalization of $191.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $284.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $280.76.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.59 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that McDonald’s will post 12.35 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 57.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC now owns 1,051 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.6% in the third quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 80,441 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $21,191,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services now owns 11,025 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,269,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 7.9% in the third quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,522 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 7.7% in the third quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,227 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. 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.