Wealth Architects LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Wealth Architects LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 18.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,360 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Wealth Architects LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in McDonald’s by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,833,510,000 after acquiring an additional 220,365 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,082,894 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,592,892,000 after purchasing an additional 128,800 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,803,833 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,682,473,000 after purchasing an additional 52,195 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in McDonald’s by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,694,202 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,650,692,000 after purchasing an additional 129,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 0.7% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,765,049 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $841,966,000 after purchasing an additional 19,867 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $300.00 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $214.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $296.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $296.91. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $326.32.

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

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total transaction of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. The trade was a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s 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.