McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Acquired by FourThought Financial Partners LLC

FourThought Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,017 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TCG Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. TCG Advisory Services LLC now owns 38,406 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $11,388,000 after acquiring an additional 3,189 shares during the last quarter. Red Cedar Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Red Cedar Investment Management LLC now owns 16,781 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,976,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. AJOVista LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 7,686 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,279,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Fin Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Fin Capital Inc. now owns 4,536 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,345,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MCD. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $325.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush cut their target price on McDonald’s from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on McDonald’s from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $317.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,696,517.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock traded down $2.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $270.32. 2,642,344 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,812,742. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $279.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $282.76. The company has a market capitalization of $194.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $245.73 and a fifty-two week high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 180.54% and a net margin of 33.36%. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.63 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.18 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.71%.

McDonald’s 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.