McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Acquired by Barings LLC

Barings LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,645 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 433 shares during the quarter. Barings LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GDS Wealth Management grew its stake in McDonald’s by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 2,504 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management grew its stake in McDonald’s by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 1,882 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC grew its stake in McDonald’s by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 9,396 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,724,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 736 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Barn Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 871 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Up 3.6 %

MCD stock opened at $321.52 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $295.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $296.32. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $323.17. The company has a market cap of $229.71 billion, a PE ratio of 28.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. Equities 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 will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,720,778.28. This represents a 15.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,383,235.70. The trade was a 11.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

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.