KeyCorp Cuts McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Price Target to $345.00

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price objective cut by KeyCorp from $354.00 to $345.00 in a report issued on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the fast-food giant’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on MCD. Robert W. Baird set a $335.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $356.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $323.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $339.34.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $300.18 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $213.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.12, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.53. McDonald’s has a 12-month low of $283.47 and a 12-month high of $341.75. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $318.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $311.87.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.81 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 343.90% and a net margin of 31.85%.McDonald’s’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.83 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that McDonald’s will post 13.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were issued a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 62.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 26,276 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.54, for a total transaction of $8,764,097.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 22,900 shares in the company, valued at $7,638,066. This represents a 53.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 4,692 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.00, for a total transaction of $1,553,052.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 6,200 shares in the company, valued at $2,052,200. The trade was a 43.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 71,657 shares of company stock worth $23,723,307 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,351,127 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $22,112,675,000 after buying an additional 703,458 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,983,997 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $10,997,789,000 after purchasing an additional 959,140 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,038,519 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $5,195,965,000 after purchasing an additional 76,090 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,474,749 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,895,768,000 after purchasing an additional 277,617 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,890,438,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting McDonald’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s revamps 17 menu items to add higher?protein options in response to rising GLP?1 use and shifting consumer preferences — a product innovation that could help sustain guest counts and average checks if it resonates. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC expects McDonald’s Q1 results to be largely in?line with Street estimates — suggests no major surprise but limits upside from earnings beats. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: McDonald’s launched a refreshed value offering (items under $3, $3 deals and $4 bundles) aimed at driving frequency — positive for traffic but ambiguous for margins depending on redemption and mix. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Minor price?target adjustment from Morgan Stanley (small cut to $334) and an average broker rating of “Hold” — indicates cautious but not uniformly bearish analyst stance. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies trimmed sales/same?store sales forecasts citing softer March trends and now expects Q1 profit slightly below estimates — raises short?term downside risk to growth/earnings. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: KeyBanc cut its target to $345 and flagged a volatile 2026 outlook — signals elevated uncertainty around demand and margin trajectory. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Macro headwinds: Goldman Sachs warned of a potentially challenging period for U.S. consumers — higher sensitivity to promotions and value could persist, pressuring pricing power and margins. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and coverage notes warn of diminishing returns from heavy promotions (value menu and bundles) and potential margin compression — the tradeoff between driving traffic and protecting margins is the main near?term risk. Article Title

About McDonald’s

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is a global quick-service restaurant company best known for its hamburgers, French fries and breakfast offerings. The company develops, operates and franchises a system of restaurants that sell a range of food and beverage items, including signature products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, McCafé coffee beverages and a variety of salads, desserts and seasonal menu items. McDonald’s serves customers through company-operated restaurants and franchised locations, and it supports sales via dine-in, drive-thru, digital ordering platforms and third-party delivery partnerships.

Founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald as a single San Bernardino, California restaurant, the business was transformed into a franchising model after Ray Kroc joined in the mid-1950s and led the brand’s national and international expansion.