Generali Investments Management Co LLC Acquires New Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 17,038 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $4,939,000. McDonald’s makes up approximately 1.3% of Generali Investments Management Co LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GM Advisory Group LLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,386 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $692,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 41.6% in the 4th quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 8,396 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,434,000 after purchasing an additional 2,465 shares in the last quarter. West Tower Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. West Tower Group LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. North Forty Two & Co. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth $655,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth $348,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total value of $319,918.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,187 shares in the company, valued at $2,383,235.70. This trade represents a 11.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $303.60 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $216.91 billion, a PE ratio of 26.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s fifty day moving average is $297.49 and its 200 day moving average is $297.13. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank raised McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Wedbush lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.39.

McDonald’s 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.