Evercore ISI Boosts McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Price Target to $340.00

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price objective increased by Evercore ISI from $320.00 to $340.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the fast-food giant’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $315.69.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of MCD opened at $314.75 on Tuesday. McDonald’s has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $315.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.83 billion, a PE ratio of 26.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $293.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $273.48.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.17 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that McDonald’s will post 11.71 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $446,721.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 34,097 shares of company stock worth $10,221,233. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Cullen Investment Group LTD. lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 12.0% in the first quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 2,473 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $687,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 29.4% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,948 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.5% in the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 117,967 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $33,261,000 after buying an additional 1,706 shares during the last quarter. New Hampshire Trust lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.6% in the first quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 21,128 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $5,957,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 4.9% in the first quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 34,363 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $9,689,000 after buying an additional 1,598 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.