West Tower Group LLC Increases Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

West Tower Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 40.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,400 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. West Tower Group LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Boltwood Capital Management grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 1,882 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Pettee Investors Inc. grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Pettee Investors Inc. now owns 5,401 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,566,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 9,396 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,724,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Independent Wealth Network Inc. grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 736 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Barn Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 871 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,720,778.28. The trade was a 15.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MCD shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.39.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of MCD stock opened at $303.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $297.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $297.13. The company has a market cap of $216.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.66, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $326.32.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. 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, Spain, and the U.K.