IFP Advisors Inc Purchases 6,078 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 26.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,923 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,078 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $8,385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 8.2% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 35,395 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $10,778,000 after buying an additional 2,674 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 16.4% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 68,411 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $19,252,000 after buying an additional 9,644 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 32.1% during the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $861,000 after buying an additional 686 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 3.0% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,553 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $777,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 27.8% during the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,268 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $7,999,000 after buying an additional 5,717 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $304.76 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $218.40 billion, a PE ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $292.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $294.10.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MCD shares. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at $2,214,275.25. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.60, for a total value of $334,755.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $475,176. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,106 shares of company stock worth $6,382,112 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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, Spain, and the U.K.