McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Purchased by Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC.

Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,546 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 110.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD stock opened at $319.63 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $228.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $310.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $301.07. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. The company had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.70 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $286,395.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,263,290. This represents a 6.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $475,176. The trade was a 41.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,436 shares of company stock worth $4,458,290. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Northcoast Research cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $325.91.

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.