McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by Griffin Asset Management Inc.

Griffin Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,470 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 415 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at 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 Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total transaction of $441,470.49. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $459,435.60. This trade represents a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total transaction of $319,918.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,383,235.70. This represents a 11.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,905 shares of company stock valued at $2,592,327 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $336.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.87.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $293.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $210.08 billion, a PE ratio of 25.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $291.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $288.70. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.19 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.72 EPS 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.