Bristlecone Advisors LLC Increases Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Bristlecone Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 15.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 902 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $261,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MCD. Riversedge Advisors LLC grew its stake in McDonald’s by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $513,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in McDonald’s by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,472 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its stake in McDonald’s by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. GDS Wealth Management grew its stake in McDonald’s by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 2,504 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $762,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boltwood Capital Management grew its stake in McDonald’s by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 1,882 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at $2,807,201.25. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total transaction of $321,457.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,155. This trade represents a 10.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,406 shares of company stock worth $2,150,857. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $308.22 on Tuesday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $317.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $290.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $291.16. The stock has a market cap of $220.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. Analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 earnings per share 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 $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Baird R W lowered shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $320.00 to $290.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $336.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.13.

McDonald’s 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, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.