Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC Sells 92 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC reduced its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,031 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 92 shares during the quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $72,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

McDonald’s stock opened at $286.79 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $294.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $285.92. The company has a market cap of $205.52 billion, a PE ratio of 25.18, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.73. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.19 EPS. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions 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 shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $727,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 2,905 shares in the company, valued at $900,550. The trade was a 44.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,050 shares of company stock worth $3,556,688 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MCD shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Baird R W downgraded McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $320.00 to $290.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.65.

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.