Berkshire Bank Decreases Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Berkshire Bank decreased its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,683 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 92 shares during the period. Berkshire Bank’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $778,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in McDonald’s by 1.8% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 129,073 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $32,894,000 after purchasing an additional 2,328 shares during the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the second quarter worth approximately $959,000. Second Line Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the second quarter worth approximately $221,000. Quarry LP grew its position in McDonald’s by 54.6% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 609 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $155,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, Regal Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 3.0% in the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,179 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $7,691,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $336.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $2,214,275.25. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at $2,807,201.25. The trade was a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 8,905 shares of company stock worth $2,592,327. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD stock opened at $293.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $291.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.70. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90. The firm has a market cap of $210.08 billion, a PE ratio of 25.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.19 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict 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.