McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Bought by Sowell Financial Services LLC

Sowell Financial Services LLC grew its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 23,855 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 652 shares during the quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $6,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. The trade was a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

McDonald’s stock opened at $321.52 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $229.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $295.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $296.32. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $323.17.

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

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. 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, Spain, and the U.K.