Allianz SE Acquires New Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Allianz SE purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 67,353 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $19,513,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 110.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price 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. Truist Financial reduced their target price on 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 price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Nine 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value of $989,121.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,807,201.25. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 represents a 15.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,405 shares of company stock valued at $9,886,656 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of MCD opened at $306.95 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $219.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.95, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $326.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $301.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $298.10.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. Equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.16%.

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.