Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC Takes $305,000 Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,027 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $305,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,449,565 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $18,032,353,000 after acquiring an additional 262,147 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,077,338 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $10,169,018,000 after buying an additional 485,066 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 106,340.3% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,235,890 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $5,069,234,000 after buying an additional 19,217,818 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,200,473 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,423,773,000 after buying an additional 151,161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,341,360,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. BTIG Research lowered McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.60.

McDonald’s Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $282.02 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.63 billion, a PE ratio of 24.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $290.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $280.92. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $245.73 and a 12-month high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 171.96% and a net margin of 33.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.74%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Profile

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.