Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Buys Shares of 10,578 McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,578 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $3,066,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in McDonald's by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,125 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group boosted its stake in McDonald's by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,010 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC bought a new position in McDonald's during the 4th quarter valued at $2,471,000. Sentinel Pension Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in McDonald's by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors Inc. now owns 1,851 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $537,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN boosted its stake in McDonald's by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,944 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $853,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald's news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $286,395.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,978 shares in the company, valued at $4,263,290. This trade represents a 6.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 3,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total value of $962,432.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 9,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,964,892.08. This trade represents a 24.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,636 shares of company stock worth $5,420,722. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD traded up $4.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $318.51. 2,636,802 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,554,586. McDonald's Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $326.32. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $310.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $300.64. The company has a market capitalization of $227.76 billion, a PE ratio of 27.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.67. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.17 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.70 earnings per share. McDonald's's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MCD. KeyCorp increased their price target on McDonald's from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $345.00 price objective (up previously from $340.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on McDonald's from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Erste Group Bank upgraded McDonald's from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on McDonald's from $353.00 to $364.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $325.91.

McDonald's Company Profile

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.