Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC Cuts Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC trimmed its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,195 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 221 shares during the quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Albert D Mason Inc. increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 7,640 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,215,000 after buying an additional 1,785 shares during the last quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,702 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $6,871,000 after acquiring an additional 1,436 shares during the period. Somerset Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 17,546 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $5,086,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 25,926 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $7,516,000 after purchasing an additional 3,533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth about $2,504,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MCD shares. Baird R W cut shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup raised McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $311.00 to $334.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp upped their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $321.39.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $280.90 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The company has a market cap of $201.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $292.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $286.75.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total value of $321,325.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,385 shares in the company, valued at $3,036,366.30. This trade represents a 9.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value of $989,121.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,807,201.25. This trade represents a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,704 shares of company stock worth $2,829,428 in the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by 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.