10,297 Shares in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Acquired by Easterly Investment Partners LLC

Easterly Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 10,297 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $2,985,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. This represents a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,405 shares of company stock valued at $9,886,656 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD opened at $313.39 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $300.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $297.89. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $326.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.51, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share 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, research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.39.

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.