InvesTrust Acquires New Shares in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

InvesTrust bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 27,661 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $8,015,000. McDonald’s comprises about 2.2% of InvesTrust’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $529,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 494.9% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 19,179 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,886,000 after purchasing an additional 15,955 shares in the last quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at $248,000. Private Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 280.3% in the 2nd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 3,008 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $767,000 after buying an additional 2,217 shares during the period. Finally, Liberty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,630,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Guggenheim lowered shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total transaction of $321,325.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,036,366.30. This represents a 9.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. This trade represents a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,050 shares of company stock valued at $3,556,688 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

McDonald’s stock traded down $1.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $288.05. 1,268,073 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,559,762. The stock has a market cap of $206.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.73. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $294.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $285.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.