D.A. Davidson & CO. Grows Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 119,655 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,169 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $34,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meredith Wealth Planning lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,197 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 3,684 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 225.7% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares during the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1,509.1% in the fourth quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 73,424 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $21,285,000 after purchasing an additional 68,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC now owns 2,323 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $673,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MCD shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $308.59 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $221.14 billion, a PE ratio of 27.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $317.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $291.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $292.90.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 17,906 shares of company stock valued at $5,406,382. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.