McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Purchased by Arete Wealth Advisors LLC

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,052 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the period. McDonald’s makes up 0.7% of Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $10,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 110.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 10,459 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.71, for a total value of $3,228,797.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,918.26. This represents a 69.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,497 shares of company stock worth $8,461,400. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on MCD. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $311.69 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $303.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $298.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.37, a P/E/G 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 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 net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.