West Branch Capital LLC Has $2.89 Million Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

West Branch Capital LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 13.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,958 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,163 shares during the period. McDonald’s accounts for 0.9% of West Branch Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dakota Wealth Management increased its stake in McDonald’s by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 37,430 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $10,851,000 after buying an additional 1,532 shares during the last quarter. XML Financial LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 6,804 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,972,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 5,388 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,562,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. Verum Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 212,433 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $61,582,000 after acquiring an additional 19,971 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total transaction of $436,134.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $453,882. The trade was a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. This trade represents a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,605 shares of company stock worth $2,508,102 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MCD. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI raised their price target 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. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Ten research 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 company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $321.22.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD stock opened at $282.85 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $292.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $287.72. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.90. The company has a market capitalization of $202.69 billion, a PE ratio of 24.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.19 EPS. On average, research analysts predict 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.