Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC Sells 92 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC lowered its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,031 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 92 shares during the period. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $877,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the third quarter worth approximately $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.9 %

McDonald’s stock opened at $286.79 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $294.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $285.92. The company has a market cap of $205.52 billion, a PE ratio of 25.18, 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.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.19 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total transaction of $321,325.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,385 shares in the company, valued at $3,036,366.30. The trade was a 9.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $727,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 2,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,550. The trade was a 44.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,050 shares of company stock valued at $3,556,688. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Argus raised McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.65.

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.