White Pine Capital LLC Grows Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

White Pine Capital LLC grew its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,792 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. White Pine Capital LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,389,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the subject of several analyst reports. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim downgraded McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial lowered their price target on McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,906 shares of company stock valued at $5,406,382 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD stock opened at $309.99 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $291.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $292.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. On average, analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

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, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.