Bill Few Associates Inc. Cuts Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Bill Few Associates Inc. lessened its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,610 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 421 shares during the period. Bill Few Associates Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,046,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in McDonald’s by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,643 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,056,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. raised its stake in McDonald’s by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 736 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 390,250 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $113,130,000 after purchasing an additional 8,363 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 5,285 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,532,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Phillips Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 3,526 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $995,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,807,201.25. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total transaction of $321,457.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,155. This trade represents a 10.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,605 shares of company stock valued at $2,508,102. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of MCD stock opened at $281.30 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $291.49 and a 200 day moving average of $287.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.70, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.73. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.19 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $336.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird downgraded McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on McDonald’s from $350.00 to $342.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.