Ritholtz Wealth Management Boosts Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,250 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 832 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,841,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter worth about $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter worth about $44,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter worth about $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s 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 transaction of $436,134.05. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total value of $321,325.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,036,366.30. This trade represents a 9.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,704 shares of company stock valued at $2,829,428 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $279.56 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $293.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $286.80. The company has a market cap of $200.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.54, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.73. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.19 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MCD. UBS Group upped their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup raised McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $311.00 to $334.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Argus raised McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $321.39.

McDonald’s 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.