Ballentine Partners LLC Increases Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,208 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $4,988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the third quarter worth $58,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the third quarter worth $72,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of McDonald’s 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 owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,807,201.25. The trade was a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $321,325.62. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,704 shares of company stock worth $2,829,428. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial cut their price target 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. Citigroup upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $311.00 to $334.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $321.39.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

McDonald’s stock opened at $280.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $201.30 billion, a PE ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $292.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $287.50. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The firm 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%. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.19 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.