Citigroup Upgrades McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) to “Buy”

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) was upgraded by Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $334.00 price target on the fast-food giant’s stock, up from their previous price target of $311.00. Citigroup’s target price suggests a potential upside of 16.46% from the company’s current price.

MCD has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $321.39.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of MCD stock opened at $286.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $205.52 billion, a PE ratio of 25.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.73. McDonald’s has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $294.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $285.92.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.19 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 11.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $727,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,050 shares of company stock valued at $3,556,688 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,833,510,000 after acquiring an additional 220,365 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,082,894 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,592,892,000 after purchasing an additional 128,800 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 3.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,567,030,000 after buying an additional 188,888 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,694,403,000 after buying an additional 49,106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,216,677,000 after acquiring an additional 354,196 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.