United Asset Strategies Inc. Acquires 81 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,928 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $72,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MCD. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. KeyCorp lowered their target price on McDonald’s from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Guggenheim downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.78.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 trade represents a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total transaction of $441,470.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $459,435.60. This trade represents a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,905 shares of company stock worth $2,592,327. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $285.37 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $204.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.05, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.73. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $291.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $288.70.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted 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 company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.72 EPS for the current fiscal 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.