Avity Investment Management Inc. Cuts Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Avity Investment Management Inc. reduced its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,025 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 118 shares during the period. Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,808 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $5,742,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 28.1% in the 4th quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 2,975 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $862,000 after acquiring an additional 653 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 45.9% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 12,899 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,740,000 after acquiring an additional 4,061 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 20,732 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $6,010,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares during the period. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,005 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total transaction of $441,470.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $459,435.60. This represents a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. This trade represents a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,704 shares of company stock worth $2,829,428 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $281.40 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $201.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.73. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $317.90. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $293.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $286.83.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on MCD shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. KeyCorp upped their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $321.39.

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.