Great Lakes Advisors LLC Purchases 17,673 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 168.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,137 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,673 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $8,551,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 142.9% in the second quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 85 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 162.5% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 84 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. GFG Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE:MCD opened at $315.17 on Friday. McDonald’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $283.47 and a twelve month high of $326.32. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $309.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $306.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.44 billion, a PE ratio of 26.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.53.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.10 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.04% and a negative return on equity of 280.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 6,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.50, for a total transaction of $2,006,218.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,407,133. This represents a 58.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 2,626 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.58, for a total value of $805,079.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,654,918.84. The trade was a 32.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,142 shares of company stock worth $13,841,169. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MCD. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on McDonald’s from $381.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Mizuho raised McDonald’s to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Oppenheimer upgraded McDonald’s from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $355.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $328.88.

McDonald’s Profile

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is a global quick-service restaurant company best known for its hamburgers, French fries and breakfast offerings. The company develops, operates and franchises a system of restaurants that sell a range of food and beverage items, including signature products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, McCafé coffee beverages and a variety of salads, desserts and seasonal menu items. McDonald’s serves customers through company-operated restaurants and franchised locations, and it supports sales via dine-in, drive-thru, digital ordering platforms and third-party delivery partnerships.

Founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald as a single San Bernardino, California restaurant, the business was transformed into a franchising model after Ray Kroc joined in the mid-1950s and led the brand’s national and international expansion.