Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Reduces Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lowered its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 34.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,760 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 22,920 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $12,642,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MCD shares. Argus raised McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total value of $436,134.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $453,882. This trade represents a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total value of $321,457.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,155. This represents a 10.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,406 shares of company stock worth $2,150,857 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $288.83 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The stock has a market cap of $206.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36, a PEG ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $291.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $289.25.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.19 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.68 EPS 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.