Avestar Capital LLC Buys 531 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Avestar Capital LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,461 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 531 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Baird R W lowered McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value of $989,121.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,807,201.25. The trade was a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total value of $84,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,406 shares of company stock valued at $2,150,857 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $307.47 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $291.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $292.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. Analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.16%.

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, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.