Verity & Verity LLC Makes New $1.17 Million Investment in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Verity & Verity LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,021 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $1,166,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald's by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $4,833,510,000 after buying an additional 220,365 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in McDonald's by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,082,894 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $4,592,892,000 after acquiring an additional 128,800 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in McDonald's by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,567,030,000 after acquiring an additional 188,888 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in McDonald's by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,694,403,000 after acquiring an additional 49,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,216,677,000 after purchasing an additional 354,196 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of McDonald's from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of McDonald's from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of McDonald's from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on McDonald's from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on McDonald's from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $321.39.

Insider Transactions at McDonald's

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total value of $321,325.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,036,366.30. This trade represents a 9.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,807,201.25. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,704 shares of company stock worth $2,829,428. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD traded up $1.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $280.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,304,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,456,984. McDonald's Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.66, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.73. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $292.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $287.24.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last released 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. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.19 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that McDonald's Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current year.

McDonald's Company Profile

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.