McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) Receives $335.70 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twenty-nine research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $334.9630.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on McDonald’s from $380.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $325.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Cfra raised McDonald’s to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th.

Key Headlines Impacting McDonald’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s is leaning into beverages with a new custom drink push, including a Dirty Dr. Pepper-style offering, which could help drive traffic and lift average ticket sizes as chains compete for drink sales. McDonald’s Dirty Dr. Pepper Leads Its New Custom Drink Push
• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s is also using promotions and limited-time offers, including free fries for National French Fry Day and a BT21 Happy Meal rollout, to support customer engagement and near-term sales momentum. Free fries article BT21 Happy Meals article
• Positive Sentiment: Some recent commentary suggests McDonald’s remains a defensible consumer name, with analysts and market writers highlighting its cash generation, brand strength, and potential to benefit from event-driven marketing around the FIFA World Cup. FIFA World Cup growth strategy article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several lifestyle pieces about ordering hacks, retro campaigns, and menu combinations are generating buzz, but these appear more like brand-interest stories than material stock drivers. Filet-O-Fish and Snack Wrap article Ordering hack article Vinyl record campaign article
• Neutral Sentiment: McDonald’s has also been the subject of mixed third-party coverage comparing it with other consumer names and discussing macro risks, but these articles do not signal a clear company-specific catalyst on their own. McDonald’s or Pfizer article Index exit and oil shock article
• Negative Sentiment: A Deutsche Bank note says McDonald’s U.S. comparable sales likely hit a new low in the second quarter, reinforcing worries that traffic and same-store sales may be weakening. US sales likely hit new low article
• Negative Sentiment: Recent market pieces also note that McDonald’s has been registering bigger daily declines than the broader market, suggesting investors remain cautious heading into upcoming sales and earnings-related updates. Registers a bigger fall than the market article

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,763 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.36, for a total transaction of $769,108.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,268 shares in the company, valued at $1,744,760.48. This represents a 30.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 5,252 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.32, for a total value of $1,493,248.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,198,930.88. The trade was a 40.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 8,681 shares of company stock worth $2,456,440 in the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MCD. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. increased its stake in McDonald’s by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 19,429 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $5,252,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the period. Hudson Value Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 22.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 15,790 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,268,000 after purchasing an additional 2,862 shares in the last quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,453 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $9,043,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. Tema ETFs LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 14,939 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,038,000 after purchasing an additional 1,450 shares during the period. Finally, GenWealth Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth $203,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD traded down $1.56 during trading on Friday, hitting $274.93. 2,978,722 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,490,551. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $278.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $301.85. The firm has a market cap of $195.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.41. McDonald’s has a 1 year low of $264.53 and a 1 year high of $341.75.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $6.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.47 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.62% and a negative return on equity of 442.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.67 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that McDonald’s will post 12.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 2nd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 61.34%.

McDonald’s Company Profile

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.