FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH Raises Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH grew its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,643 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 48,190 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $12,281,000 after acquiring an additional 915 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,291 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,113,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the period. Trust Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $328,000. Wealth Advisors of Tampa Bay LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 12.1% in the second quarter. Wealth Advisors of Tampa Bay LLC now owns 17,446 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,446,000 after buying an additional 1,880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter worth $248,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. The trade was a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 trade represents a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,704 shares of company stock worth $2,829,428 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Baird R W cut shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays raised their price target on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $321.39.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.4 %

MCD opened at $280.90 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $292.90 and a 200 day moving average of $286.75. The stock has a market cap 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during 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%. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.19 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 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.