Smith Thornton Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Smith Thornton Advisors LLC lessened its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,377 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 313 shares during the period. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in McDonald’s by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,833,510,000 after buying an additional 220,365 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,082,894 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,592,892,000 after buying an additional 128,800 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,567,030,000 after purchasing an additional 188,888 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 49,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,216,677,000 after purchasing an additional 354,196 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,704 shares of company stock worth $2,829,428 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim cut shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Argus raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $321.39.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $282.54 on Thursday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.47 billion, a PE ratio of 24.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $293.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $286.83.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.19 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current 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.