IFP Advisors Inc Buys 6,078 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 26.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 28,923 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,078 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $8,385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Waverton Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at $203,000. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,197 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Partners Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at $279,000. World Equity Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 92.6% during the fourth quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 11,422 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,311,000 after buying an additional 5,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Delta Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at $760,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MCD. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Barclays raised their target price on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup raised their target price on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Ten research 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $304.76 on Monday. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $292.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $294.10. The company has a market cap of $218.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.76, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value 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. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.60, for a total value of $334,755.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $475,176. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,106 shares of company stock valued at $6,382,112 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is currently 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.