Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC Purchases 3,320 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 402.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,144 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,320 shares during the quarter. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 110.0% during 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 period. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 3,200 shares of McDonald’s 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 owns 9,858 shares in the company, valued at $2,964,892.08. The trade was a 24.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.60, for a total transaction of $334,755.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $475,176. This trade represents a 41.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,636 shares of company stock valued at $5,420,722 over the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MCD shares. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $353.00 to $364.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $325.91.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD stock opened at $318.51 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $227.76 billion, a PE ratio of 27.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $326.32. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $310.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $300.76.

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

McDonald’s Company 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.