McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,335 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 646 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position 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.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,807,201.25. The trade was a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,882. This trade represents a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,704 shares of company stock valued at $2,829,428. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. Truist Financial decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $350.00 to $342.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $321.39.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.4 %

McDonald’s stock opened at $280.90 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $292.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $287.50. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.30 billion, a PE ratio of 24.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.73.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.