Hennessy Advisors Inc. Takes Position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,450 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $1,870,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MCD. Goldstone Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald's by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 4,024 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth about $241,000. Empirical Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald's by 41.6% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 37,809 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $10,960,000 after acquiring an additional 11,099 shares during the last quarter. Cvfg LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $523,000. Finally, Bennett Associates Wealth Management raised its position in McDonald's by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. Bennett Associates Wealth Management now owns 922 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other McDonald's news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total transaction of $321,325.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,036,366.30. This represents a 9.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,704 shares of company stock worth $2,829,428 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MCD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on McDonald's from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of McDonald's from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Argus upgraded shares of McDonald's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of McDonald's from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, McDonald's presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $321.39.

McDonald's Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD traded up $1.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $280.90. The company had a trading volume of 3,304,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,456,984. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $292.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $287.24. McDonald's Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The company 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.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. McDonald's's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald's Co. will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.