Asset Planning Inc Makes New $3.86 Million Investment in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 13,323 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $3,862,000. McDonald’s accounts for 2.9% of Asset Planning Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter worth $25,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MCD. Baird R W cut McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. KeyCorp boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value 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 approximately $2,807,201.25. This trade represents a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was 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. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,906 shares of company stock valued at $5,406,382 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $309.99 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $291.58 and its 200 day moving average is $292.08. The stock has a market cap of $222.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. Analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

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.