McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) Given New $347.00 Price Target at Barclays

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) had its price objective lowered by Barclays from $350.00 to $347.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the fast-food giant's stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on MCD. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of McDonald's from $310.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on McDonald's from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp increased their target price on McDonald's from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised McDonald's from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $322.74.

McDonald's Stock Performance

NYSE:MCD traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $315.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 733,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,570,083. McDonald's has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $326.32. The business's 50-day moving average is $307.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $299.70. The company has a market capitalization of $225.56 billion, a PE ratio of 27.68, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62.

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

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.50, for a total transaction of $299,071.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,853,850. The trade was a 7.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 3,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total transaction of $962,432.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 9,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,964,892.08. The trade was a 24.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,136 shares of company stock valued at $8,676,247. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of McDonald's

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MCD. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of McDonald's in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,725,190,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in McDonald's by 39,039.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,497,919 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,092,645,000 after acquiring an additional 3,488,982 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald's during the 4th quarter worth $703,074,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the 4th quarter worth about $350,935,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of McDonald's by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $2,570,511,000 after purchasing an additional 895,896 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.