Aire Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Aire Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,722 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Aire Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,079,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth $703,074,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its position in McDonald’s by 542.9% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $244,174,000 after purchasing an additional 677,139 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 43,591.6% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 590,711 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $171,241,000 after purchasing an additional 589,359 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $20,341,391,000 after buying an additional 526,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 518.1% during the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 348,119 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $100,916,000 after buying an additional 291,802 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $305.85 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $218.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $326.32. The company has a 50-day moving average of $299.21 and a 200-day moving average of $297.65.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,405 shares of company stock worth $9,886,656 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MCD. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.39.

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.