Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich Has $3.16 Million Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,900 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 45 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s comprises 0.9% of Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its stake in McDonald’s by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 6,892 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,998,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 5,224 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $789,000. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 19,268 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $5,586,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total value of $84,225.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value of $989,121.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,807,201.25. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,406 shares of company stock worth $2,150,857 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD stock opened at $310.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $291.02 and a 200-day moving average of $291.56. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90. The company has a market capitalization of $222.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.23, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74.

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 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 predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. 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, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.