Citigroup Cuts McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) Price Target to $353.00

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) had its target price lowered by Citigroup from $360.00 to $353.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the fast-food giant's stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on McDonald's from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wedbush raised their price target on McDonald's from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on McDonald's from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $323.30.

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McDonald's Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of MCD stock traded up $6.57 during trading on Thursday, reaching $318.15. 7,020,608 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,520,247. McDonald's has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32. The company has a market capitalization of $227.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.93, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. The firm's 50-day moving average is $304.05 and its 200 day moving average is $298.69.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that McDonald's will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald's's payout ratio is 62.16%.

Insider Activity at McDonald's

In other McDonald's news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. The trade was a 15.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold 27,497 shares of company stock worth $8,461,400 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of McDonald's

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald's in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in McDonald's during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new stake in McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 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.