Rafferty Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,785 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 7,709 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $19,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,546 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,318,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,005 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 20,732 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $6,010,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares during the period. Roble Belko & Company Inc purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at $87,000. Finally, Websterrogers Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at $326,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $314.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $224.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.57, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $309.80 and its 200 day moving average is $300.47. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly 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 analysts’ expectations 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 revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Eleven 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $325.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.50, for a total transaction of $299,071.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,853,850. This represents a 7.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total transaction of $962,432.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 9,858 shares in the company, valued at $2,964,892.08. This represents a 24.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,636 shares of company stock worth $5,420,722. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

About McDonald’s

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.