Robert W. Baird Lowers McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Price Target to $300.00

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price target lowered by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird from $305.00 to $300.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the fast-food giant’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target points to a potential upside of 9.78% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $291.00 to $341.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on McDonald’s from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $317.74.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD stock opened at $273.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $197.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.20, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s has a fifty-two week low of $245.73 and a fifty-two week high of $302.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $280.07 and a 200-day moving average of $282.21.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.36% and a negative return on equity of 180.54%. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.63 EPS. Equities analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at $4,696,517.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Norges Bank purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at $2,684,899,000. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 141,160.9% during the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 5,613,710 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,664,521,000 after purchasing an additional 5,609,736 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 10,702.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,174,426 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $644,739,000 after purchasing an additional 2,154,297 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,347,048 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,178,474,000 after purchasing an additional 987,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter worth about $192,165,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Company Profile

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.