Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,835 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,075 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,848,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in McDonald’s by 542.9% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $244,174,000 after purchasing an additional 677,139 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in McDonald’s by 43,591.6% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 590,711 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $171,241,000 after purchasing an additional 589,359 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth about $121,254,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI raised its stake in McDonald’s by 3,580.1% during the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 268,650 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $81,807,000 after purchasing an additional 261,350 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake in McDonald’s by 26,948.9% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,752 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $66,023,000 after purchasing an additional 226,910 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $308.17 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $294.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $295.27. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The stock has a market cap of $220.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.06, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74.

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

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.16%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total transaction of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. This represents a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575 in the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MCD shares. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

About McDonald’s

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.