Clune & Associates LTD. Purchases Shares of 3,385 McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Clune & Associates LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,385 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $981,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 110.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.39.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 10,459 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.71, for a total value of $3,228,797.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,918.26. This trade represents a 69.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,405 shares of company stock valued at $9,886,656 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $305.07 on Monday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $326.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $298.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $297.53. The company has a market capitalization of $217.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were 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 was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

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.