Red Cedar Investment Management LLC Raises Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Red Cedar Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,781 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. McDonald’s accounts for 0.7% of Red Cedar Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Red Cedar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $4,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MCD. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth $121,000. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 30.1% during the third quarter. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. now owns 1,954 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $515,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,238 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $355,000. Finally, Bouchey Financial Group Ltd grew its position in McDonald’s by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd now owns 2,325 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $613,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MCD shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $325.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, March 25th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $330.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Nine equities research 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, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $317.74.

McDonald’s Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of McDonald’s stock traded down $2.96 during trading on Friday, reaching $270.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,642,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,812,742. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $279.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $282.35. The company has a market capitalization of $194.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $245.73 and a 12-month high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.63 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.71%.

About McDonald’s

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.