Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 526,466 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of McDonald’s worth $20,341,391,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MCD. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $703,074,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 542.9% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $244,174,000 after acquiring an additional 677,139 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 43,591.6% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 590,711 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $171,241,000 after purchasing an additional 589,359 shares during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 518.1% in the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 348,119 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $100,916,000 after purchasing an additional 291,802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth about $77,417,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total transaction of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. This trade represents a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total value of $84,225.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at $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 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

McDonald’s stock opened at $305.07 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $217.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $326.32. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $298.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $297.46.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MCD. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Erste Group Bank raised McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.39.

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.