Sage Private Wealth Group LLC Raises Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Sage Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,312 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the quarter. Sage Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.6 %

McDonald’s stock opened at $310.16 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $291.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $291.56. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $317.90. The company has a market cap of $222.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.23, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business 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 $1.77 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MCD. Wedbush raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America raised their price target on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total value of $436,134.05. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $453,882. This represents a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,406 shares of company stock valued at $2,150,857. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.