CapWealth Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

CapWealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,251 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. CapWealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth about $44,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total value of $321,457.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,716,155. This represents a 10.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 17,906 shares of company stock worth $5,406,382. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MCD shares. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Guggenheim lowered McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler cut their price target on McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.5 %

MCD stock opened at $308.59 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $291.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $292.20. The company has a market cap of $221.14 billion, a PE ratio of 27.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its 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%. Equities analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 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, Spain, and the U.K.