McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) Rating Increased to Buy at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday, MarketBeat reports. Citigroup currently has $334.00 price target on the fast-food giant's stock, up from their prior price target of $311.00.

MCD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird cut McDonald's from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $320.00 to $290.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of McDonald's from $350.00 to $342.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $321.39.

McDonald's Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD traded down $4.68 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $282.22. 3,945,010 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,047,635. McDonald's has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.90. The business's fifty day moving average is $293.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $286.07. The stock has a market cap of $202.24 billion, a PE ratio of 24.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.82 billion. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.19 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that McDonald's will post 11.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total transaction of $436,134.05. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $453,882. This represents a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $727,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 2,905 shares in the company, valued at $900,550. This represents a 44.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,050 shares of company stock valued at $3,556,688. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald's

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in McDonald's by 31,151.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $706,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,311,721 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in McDonald's by 542.9% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $244,174,000 after acquiring an additional 677,139 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $110,321,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of McDonald's in the third quarter worth $121,254,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in McDonald's by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,216,677,000 after purchasing an additional 354,196 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

About McDonald's

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.