Guardian Asset Advisors LLC Purchases 172 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Guardian Asset Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,150 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 172 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s makes up about 1.0% of Guardian Asset Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Guardian Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.7% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,513 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $765,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its position in McDonald’s by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 329,417 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $100,311,000 after purchasing an additional 4,480 shares in the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 1,592 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $485,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Regatta Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC now owns 9,699 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,953,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at $233,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.9 %

McDonald’s stock opened at $307.47 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $291.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $292.08. The company has a market capitalization of $220.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 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%. Research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 EPS 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 issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total transaction of $436,134.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $453,882. This represents a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. This trade represents a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,406 shares of company stock valued at $2,150,857. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

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, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.