Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Stock Price

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its price objective cut by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $340.00 to $336.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the fast-food giant’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 19.61% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on MCD. Bank of America raised their target price on McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays raised their price target on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $320.00 to $290.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $321.22.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.4 %

MCD opened at $280.90 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $292.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $287.72. McDonald’s has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90. The firm has a market cap of $201.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.19 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total transaction of $321,325.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,036,366.30. The trade was a 9.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. The trade was a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,704 shares of company stock worth $2,829,428. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,394,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,694,403,000 after buying an additional 49,106 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 58.9% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 138,102 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $35,194,000 after buying an additional 51,210 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,186 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $14,978,000 after acquiring an additional 2,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $16,870,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

About McDonald’s

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.