Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Sells 1,304 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. reduced its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 23.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,374 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,304 shares during the quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 1,422 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 2.0% during the third quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $513,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.0% in the third quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,472 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.8% in the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, GDS Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 2,504 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $762,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of MCD stock opened at $281.30 on Thursday. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $317.90. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $291.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $287.90. The stock has a market cap of $201.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.70, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $6.87 billion for 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%. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.19 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the business’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 value of $989,121.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $441,470.49. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $459,435.60. The trade was a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 8,605 shares of company stock worth $2,508,102. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MCD shares. Baird R W lowered McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Argus raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $321.22.

McDonald’s Company 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.