Ellsworth Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,013 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s accounts for approximately 1.5% of Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $5,802,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 31,151.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $706,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,311,721 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 542.9% in the third 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 buying an additional 677,139 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter worth $121,254,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 8.0% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,216,677,000 after buying an additional 354,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 3,580.1% in the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 268,650 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $81,807,000 after acquiring an additional 261,350 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s 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 value of $441,470.49. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $459,435.60. This represents a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,704 shares of company stock valued at $2,829,428 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MCD. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. 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. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $342.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. 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, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $321.39.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD opened at $280.90 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $292.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $287.24. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company 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 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.