McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Stock Price Target Raised at Argus

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price objective lifted by Argus from $310.00 to $320.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the fast-food giant’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on MCD. Freedom Broker lowered shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $305.00 to $298.00 in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. HC Wainwright set a $250.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, September 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.82.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE MCD traded down $1.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $276.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,331,310 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,495,061. The business’s 50 day moving average is $248.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $282.57. McDonald’s has a 12-month low of $229.20 and a 12-month high of $341.75. The firm has a market cap of $195.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.42.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The fast-food giant reported $3.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $7.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 572.06% and a net margin of 31.72%. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.22 EPS. On average, analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 12.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a $1.93 dividend. This represents a $7.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 58.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.8% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,080,505 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $9,752,921,000 after buying an additional 646,675 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter worth $1,359,276,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in McDonald’s by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,637,785 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,130,587,000 after acquiring an additional 533,448 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in McDonald’s by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,089,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $649,545,000 after acquiring an additional 134,480 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in McDonald’s by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,909,321 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $593,366,000 after acquiring an additional 62,562 shares during the period. 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: Argus raised its price target to $320 from $310 and reiterated a “buy” rating, signaling confidence in the stock’s prospects. Argus rating
• Neutral Sentiment: McDonald’s is testing value bundles at nearly 2,000 U.S. restaurants, ahead of a planned national value platform in early 2027. The deals may help bring back customers, but the company is still assessing their effect on traffic and orders. McDonald’s value-bundle test
• Neutral Sentiment: Third-quarter profit beat analyst estimates, but revenue missed and U.S. comparable sales declined. That mixed backdrop helps explain why investors are watching for evidence that value promotions can sustain a domestic recovery. Q3 earnings and U.S. traffic
• Negative Sentiment: Consumers have filed a lawsuit alleging McDonald’s labeled McCafé drinks “sugar free” despite some containing as much as 18 grams of sugar. The allegations are unproven, but the case could create legal and reputational risk. McCafé labeling lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Broker cut its rating from “buy” to “hold” and lowered its price target to $298 from $305, adding a more cautious view alongside the recent analyst optimism. Freedom Broker rating change

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corporation is a global quick-service restaurant company that operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald’s brand. Its restaurants serve a menu that includes hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, French fries, breakfast items, desserts, salads, beverages and coffee. Offerings vary by market, and many locations provide drive-thru service, delivery and digital ordering through the McDonald’s mobile app.

The company operates through a heavily franchised business model, with restaurants owned and operated by independent franchisees, affiliates and the company itself.