McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC

Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 976 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 54 shares during the quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 110.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $318.51 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $326.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $310.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $300.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67. The company had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.17 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.70 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total value of $962,432.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 9,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,964,892.08. This trade represents a 24.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $286,395.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,978 shares in the company, valued at $4,263,290. The trade was a 6.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 17,636 shares of company stock valued at $5,420,722. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial set a $350.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $345.00 price objective (up previously from $340.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $325.91.

McDonald’s Profile

McDonald’s Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.