1,291 Shares in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD) Purchased by Capital Investment Counsel LLC

Capital Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,291 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $374,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald's during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald's during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald's during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald's during the 3rd quarter valued at $72,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total transaction of $321,457.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,716,155. This represents a 10.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. The trade was a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,905 shares of company stock worth $2,592,327. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:MCD traded up $1.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $292.18. 816,465 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,006,455. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $291.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $289.23. McDonald's Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $209.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.82 billion. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. McDonald's's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that McDonald's Co. will post 11.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of several research reports. Argus upgraded shares of McDonald's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of McDonald's from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird downgraded McDonald's from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price target on McDonald's from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $320.87.

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.