VSM Wealth Advisory LLC Invests $348,000 in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 1,199 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $348,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total transaction of $319,918.90. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. This represents a 15.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wedbush increased their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays increased their price target on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.39.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $303.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $297.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $297.13. The stock has a market cap of $216.91 billion, a PE ratio of 26.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 2.33%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.16%.

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.