Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Cuts Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC cut its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 49.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,150 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 2,063 shares during the quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Warner Financial Inc. grew its position in McDonald’s by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Warner Financial Inc. now owns 3,393 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $984,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 12,582 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,647,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in McDonald’s by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,604 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,784,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 19,386 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $5,620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC raised its stake in McDonald’s by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 827 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MCD shares. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $334.00 to $336.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group raised their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. KeyCorp dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.87.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $291.07 and a 200 day moving average of $288.70. The firm has a market cap of $210.08 billion, a price-to-earnings 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.72 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total value of $441,470.49. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $459,435.60. This represents a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,905 shares of company stock worth $2,592,327 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.