Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Reduces Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lowered its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 34.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,760 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 22,920 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $12,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 312.9% in the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 41,370 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $10,543,000 after buying an additional 31,351 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its position in McDonald’s by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,387 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,373,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its stake in McDonald’s by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 146,130 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $44,498,000 after acquiring an additional 8,797 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 6,440 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,956,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the period. Finally, Chemung Canal Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 57.8% in the 3rd quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 30,676 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $9,341,000 after purchasing an additional 11,233 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on McDonald’s from $334.00 to $336.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Argus upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $320.00 to $290.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $342.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.87.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total transaction of $436,134.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $453,882. The trade was a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,406 shares of company stock valued at $2,150,857. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD stock opened at $288.83 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $291.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $289.25. The firm has a market cap of $206.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36, a PEG ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.73. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for 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 business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.19 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.68 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s 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.