Lazard Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its position in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 19.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,770,088 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 414,453 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.25% of McDonald's worth $513,130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new position in McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth about $137,399,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $23,452,000. Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC bought a new position in McDonald's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $553,000. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC grew its stake in McDonald's by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC now owns 3,921 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,137,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gen Wealth Partners Inc grew its stake in McDonald's by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 7,683 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $2,227,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $345.00 price target (up from $340.00) on shares of McDonald's in a report on Monday, May 5th. Truist Financial set a $350.00 target price on McDonald's in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on McDonald's from $347.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $325.91.

McDonald's Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:MCD traded down $1.45 on Wednesday, reaching $307.24. 2,656,449 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,553,611. McDonald's Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $309.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $300.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. The firm had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.70 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.50, for a total transaction of $299,071.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,100 shares in the company, valued at $3,853,850. The trade was a 7.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 3,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total value of $962,432.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 9,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,964,892.08. The trade was a 24.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,636 shares of company stock valued at $5,420,722 in the last quarter. 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.