Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Has $15.25 Million Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 100.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,444 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 25,790 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s comprises 1.7% of Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $15,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth about $1,412,000. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $959,000. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,403 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Sage Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Sage Investment Advisers LLC now owns 991 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 50,016 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $14,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wedbush cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $317.74.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD stock traded up $1.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $268.54. The stock had a trading volume of 3,258,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,309,299. The stock has a market capitalization of $193.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $278.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $282.90. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $245.73 and a fifty-two week high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.36% and a negative return on equity of 180.54%. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.