First Horizon Advisors Inc. Acquires 3,271 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 128,350 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,271 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s accounts for about 1.0% of First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $37,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,833,510,000 after buying an additional 220,365 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,082,894 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,592,892,000 after buying an additional 128,800 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,694,403,000 after buying an additional 49,106 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,765,049 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $841,966,000 after buying an additional 19,867 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,015,441 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $613,722,000 after buying an additional 22,780 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MCD. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. 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, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $304.76 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $292.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $293.92. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.90. The company has a market cap of $218.40 billion, a PE ratio of 26.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. Equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.60, for a total transaction of $334,755.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $475,176. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. The trade was a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 22,205 shares of company stock worth $6,703,569. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.