Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 21.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,589 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 284 shares during the quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $461,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 31,151.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $706,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,311,721 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 542.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $244,174,000 after purchasing an additional 677,139 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at about $121,254,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in McDonald’s by 8.0% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,216,677,000 after buying an additional 354,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 3,580.1% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 268,650 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $81,807,000 after buying an additional 261,350 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at $2,807,201.25. This trade represents a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total transaction of $441,470.49. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $459,435.60. The trade was a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,605 shares of company stock valued at $2,508,102. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $282.85 on Wednesday. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $317.90. The company’s 50 day moving average is $292.12 and its 200 day moving average is $287.72. The company has a market cap of $202.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.19 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird lowered McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Guggenheim cut shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $311.00 to $334.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $321.22.

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.