Gradient Investments LLC Has $33.57 Million Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Gradient Investments LLC reduced its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 115,784 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 691 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $33,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 289.5% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,788 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,837,000 after acquiring an additional 7,275 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 29,168 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $8,456,000 after purchasing an additional 2,128 shares during the last quarter. Encompass More Asset Management increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Encompass More Asset Management now owns 2,711 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 20,662 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $5,990,000 after purchasing an additional 2,113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 6,795 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,970,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $285.37 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $204.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $291.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $287.88. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was 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. The trade was a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total value of $84,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,905 shares of company stock valued at $2,592,327 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America increased 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. Citigroup upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $311.00 to $334.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Guggenheim lowered shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $320.78.

About McDonald’s

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.