Smith Salley Wealth Management Trims Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Smith Salley Wealth Management decreased its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,485 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 245 shares during the quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,460,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 62,952 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $18,249,000 after acquiring an additional 3,795 shares during the period. Financial & Tax Architects LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Financial & Tax Architects LLC now owns 22,982 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $6,662,000 after purchasing an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its stake in McDonald’s by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 49,222 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $14,269,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,491,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. lifted its position in McDonald’s by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 29,612 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $8,584,000 after buying an additional 1,373 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird cut McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $321.39.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total transaction of $321,325.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,036,366.30. The trade was a 9.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total value of $441,470.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $459,435.60. This represents a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,704 shares of company stock valued at $2,829,428. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $280.90 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.90. The business has a fifty day moving average of $292.54 and a 200 day moving average of $286.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.66, a PEG ratio of 3.67 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 firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.19 EPS. Analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.