Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Cuts Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 381,978 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 53,896 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.05% of McDonald’s worth $110,732,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 31,151.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $706,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,311,721 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 542.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $244,174,000 after purchasing an additional 677,139 shares during the period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at about $110,321,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the third quarter worth approximately $121,254,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp increased their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $311.00 to $334.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $321.39.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.8 %

McDonald’s stock opened at $281.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $293.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $286.83. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90. The stock has a market cap of $201.66 billion, a PE ratio of 24.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. The business 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%. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.19 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total value of $321,325.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,036,366.30. This trade represents a 9.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total value of $436,134.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $453,882. This trade represents a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,704 shares of company stock valued at $2,829,428 in the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.