McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Stake Lifted by Cetera Trust Company N.A

Cetera Trust Company N.A lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. McDonald’s accounts for about 1.6% of Cetera Trust Company N.A’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Cetera Trust Company N.A’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 1.4% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 128,800 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 3.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,567,030,000 after purchasing an additional 188,888 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position 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 during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $441,470.49. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $459,435.60. The trade was a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,605 shares of company stock worth $2,508,102. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:MCD opened at $281.30 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.68 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $291.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $287.95.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced 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 the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on MCD shares. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Argus upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America increased their target price on McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Guggenheim downgraded 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 report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $321.22.

McDonald’s Company 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.