6,450 Shares in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Purchased by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 6,450 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,870,000.

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

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD stock opened at $280.90 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.30 billion, a PE ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $292.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $286.97.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results 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. 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total value of $321,325.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,036,366.30. This represents a 9.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total value of $441,470.49. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $459,435.60. The trade was a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,704 shares of company stock worth $2,829,428. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MCD. Barclays upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. KeyCorp raised their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Argus raised McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $321.39.

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.