LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI Decreases Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lessened its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,325 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 257 shares during the quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 31,151.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $706,202,000 after buying an additional 2,311,721 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 542.9% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $244,174,000 after purchasing an additional 677,139 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter worth about $110,321,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter worth about $121,254,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,216,677,000 after purchasing an additional 354,196 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus raised McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup upgraded McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $311.00 to $334.00 in a research report on Friday. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $321.39.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCD traded down $3.44 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $283.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,995,987 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,697,514. The company’s 50-day moving average is $294.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $285.92. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90. The stock has a market cap of $203.13 billion, a PE ratio of 24.89, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.19 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total transaction of $436,134.05. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,882. This trade represents a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $727,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 2,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,550. This trade represents a 44.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,050 shares of company stock valued at $3,556,688. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.