Alta Capital Management LLC Buys 1,153 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Alta Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,032 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares during the quarter. Alta Capital Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,778,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,694,202 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,650,692,000 after acquiring an additional 129,843 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 119,102 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $34,526,000 after acquiring an additional 4,439 shares during the period. Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC now owns 940 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 7,975 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,312,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the period. Finally, Kelly Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth about $200,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MCD. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment 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 a consensus target price of $323.61.

McDonald’s Trading Down 1.5 %

MCD opened at $303.70 on Tuesday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $216.98 billion, a PE ratio of 26.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $294.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $295.64.

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, 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, analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of McDonald’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 of the company’s stock, 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 a total of 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.