Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Raises Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,393 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PYA Waltman Capital LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. PYA Waltman Capital LLC now owns 4,416 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,280,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in McDonald’s by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 20,262 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $5,874,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,070 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $8,137,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Compass Capital Corp MA ADV bought a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at $807,000. Finally, Cordatus Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,075 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,500,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MCD shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note 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 note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $302.89 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $292.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $293.51. The company has a market capitalization of $217.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.59, a PEG ratio of 3.09 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 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current 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 given 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 dividend yield of 2.34%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 62.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,106 shares of company stock worth $6,368,814. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.