Highland Capital Management LLC Raises Position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 657.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,245 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after acquiring an additional 6,288 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $2,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MCD. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the third quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the third quarter worth approximately $72,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MCD shares. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald's in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of McDonald's from $340.00 to $336.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of McDonald's from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of McDonald's from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald's currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $320.87.

McDonald's Stock Down 0.2 %

MCD traded down $0.44 on Friday, hitting $289.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 272,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,901,447. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $291.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $289.25. The firm has a market cap of $207.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.73. McDonald's Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.19 EPS. McDonald's's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that McDonald's Co. will post 11.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald's

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total value of $321,457.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,286 shares in the company, valued at $2,716,155. This trade represents a 10.58 % decrease in their position. 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 on Monday, December 30th. The stock was 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 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. Insiders sold a total of 7,406 shares of company stock valued at $2,150,857 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

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.