United Asset Strategies Inc. Increases Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,928 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on MCD. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on McDonald’s from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup upgraded McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $311.00 to $334.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $320.78.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at $2,214,275.25. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value of $989,121.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at $2,807,201.25. This trade represents a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,905 shares of company stock valued at $2,592,327. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MCD opened at $285.37 on Monday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90. The stock has a market cap 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $291.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.70.

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