Robert W. Baird Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Stock

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price objective increased by Robert W. Baird from $300.00 to $315.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the fast-food giant’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $325.26.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $311.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $222.95 billion, a PE ratio of 27.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $309.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $299.89. McDonald’s has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.67. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. The firm had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.70 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that McDonald’s will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total transaction of $962,432.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 9,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,964,892.08. This trade represents a 24.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,136 shares of company stock worth $8,676,247. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCD. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in McDonald’s by 12.7% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,675 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth approximately $215,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in McDonald’s by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,093 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,937 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,591,000 after acquiring an additional 636 shares during the period. Finally, NRI Wealth Management LC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth about $1,868,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

About McDonald’s

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, Spain, and the U.K.