McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its target price boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $280.00 to $300.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the fast-food giant’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target indicates a potential downside of 2.67% from the company’s previous close.

MCD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Guggenheim downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.00.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

McDonald’s stock opened at $308.22 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $290.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $291.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.06, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s will post 11.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total value of $436,134.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $453,882. This trade represents a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total value of $321,457.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,286 shares in the company, valued at $2,716,155. This trade represents a 10.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,406 shares of company stock valued at $2,150,857 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MCD. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at $703,074,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,311,721 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 542.9% during 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. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 43,591.6% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 590,711 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $171,241,000 after purchasing an additional 589,359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter worth approximately $121,254,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About McDonald’s

McDonald’s Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.