Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas Purchases 2,589 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas increased its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 174,808 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,589 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s comprises approximately 2.9% of Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ holdings in McDonald’s were worth $50,675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,311,721 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 542.9% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $244,174,000 after purchasing an additional 677,139 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $121,254,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 3,580.1% during the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 268,650 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $81,807,000 after purchasing an additional 261,350 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $4,833,510,000 after buying an additional 220,365 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Baird R W cut McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $336.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $320.78.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $285.37 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90. The firm has a market cap of $204.50 billion, a PE ratio of 25.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $291.07 and its 200-day moving average is $288.14.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 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 firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.19 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.72 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total value of $441,470.49. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $459,435.60. The trade was a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,905 shares of company stock worth $2,592,327. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.