McDonald’s Corp., the world’s largest restaurant chain, set a target of returning as much as $20 billion in cash to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks by 2016.

The plan represents as much as a 20 percent increase from the amount of cash returned in 2011 through 2013, the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company said in a statement.

McDonald’s shares have languished as the company struggles to boost same-store sales amid shaky consumer confidence. Chief Financial Officer Pete Bensen said in a presentation in March that the company could get “more aggressive” in its borrowings in order to fund more buybacks and dividends.

McDonald’s shares rose 0.1 percent to $102.50 at 9:24 a.m. in New York. The stock gained 2.1 percent in the 12 months through Tuesday, compared with a 16 percent increase in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.