Fisher Funds Management LTD Invests $1.88 Million in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 6,511 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,882,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 128,350 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $37,208,000 after buying an additional 3,271 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its stake in McDonald’s by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 33,082 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $9,629,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares during the period. Callan Capital LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Callan Capital LLC now owns 2,274 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 428.2% in the fourth quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC now owns 5,900 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,710,000 after purchasing an additional 4,783 shares during the period. Finally, Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth $227,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MCD. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the 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 owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.60, for a total value of $334,755.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $475,176. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,106 shares of company stock valued at $6,382,112. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $304.76 on Monday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $317.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.76, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $292.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $294.10.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. Analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

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.