Confluence Investment Management LLC Has $24.09 Million Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Confluence Investment Management LLC lessened its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 83,110 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,215 shares during the quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $24,093,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.2% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,358 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,169,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,165 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 5,293 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,349,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 12.3% in the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 5,117 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,304,000 after acquiring an additional 562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 41.7% during the second quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 2,041 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $520,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MCD shares. Argus upgraded McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.65.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $727,260.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 2,905 shares in the company, valued at $900,550. The trade was a 44.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,807,201.25. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,551 shares of company stock valued at $3,120,554 over the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Trading Up 1.6 %

MCD stock traded up $4.66 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $294.55. The stock had a trading volume of 928,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,443,814. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $294.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $284.60. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results 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. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.75 earnings per share 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.