Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Purchases 114,692 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 31.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 480,355 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 114,692 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned 0.07% of McDonald’s worth $146,272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in McDonald’s by 31,151.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $706,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,311,721 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 542.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $244,174,000 after purchasing an additional 677,139 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $110,321,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $121,254,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,216,677,000 after buying an additional 354,196 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD traded down $2.59 during trading on Friday, hitting $284.31. The stock had a trading volume of 1,257,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,578,751. The firm has a market cap of $203.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $294.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $285.92. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.90.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.19 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total transaction of $441,470.49. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $459,435.60. This represents a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,050 shares of company stock worth $3,556,688. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Guggenheim downgraded McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $321.39.

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.