McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Stake Boosted by Allied Investment Advisors LLC

Allied Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 19.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,277 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Allied Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 31,151.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $706,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,311,721 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 542.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $244,174,000 after purchasing an additional 677,139 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $121,254,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its position in McDonald’s by 3,580.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 268,650 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $81,807,000 after purchasing an additional 261,350 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s by 26,948.9% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,752 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $66,023,000 after purchasing an additional 226,910 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other 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 value of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares in the company, 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 sold 17,906 shares of company stock worth $5,406,382 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $304.85 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $292.20 and its 200-day moving average is $293.38. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Guggenheim lowered shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

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.