Arizona State Retirement System Raises Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 208,034 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,397 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $60,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD stock opened at $305.66 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $218.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $294.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $295.83.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America raised their price target on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wedbush increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total transaction of $309,270.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,720,778.28. This represents a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,383,235.70. This trade represents a 11.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Company 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.