Blume Capital Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Blume Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 49.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 400 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Blume Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $119,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s by 51.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. KeyCorp cut their price target on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price objective on McDonald’s from $325.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $317.74.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCD traded down $0.57 during trading on Thursday, reaching $267.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,071,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,283,260. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $245.73 and a twelve month high of $302.39. The firm has a market cap of $193.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $278.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $282.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.01). McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.36% and a negative return on equity of 180.54%. The company had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.