McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Stake Boosted by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 43.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 103,501 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 31,132 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $30,004,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake 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 valued at $32,894,000 after acquiring an additional 2,328 shares during the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $959,000. Second Line Capital LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the second quarter worth $221,000. Quarry LP increased 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 worth $155,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Regal Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 3.0% during the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,179 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $7,691,000 after buying an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of McDonald’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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,905 shares of company stock worth $2,592,327 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Trading Up 2.7 %

MCD opened at $293.16 on Tuesday. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $317.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $291.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $288.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.08 billion, a PE ratio of 25.74, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The firm 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%. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.19 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.72 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MCD shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.78.

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.