GM Advisory Group LLC Purchases 305 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

GM Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 14.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,386 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $692,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the third quarter worth $31,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

McDonald’s stock opened at $306.83 on Thursday. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $297.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $297.19. The stock has a market cap of $219.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. On average, analysts predict 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 was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,720,778.28. The trade was a 15.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total value of $319,918.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,187 shares in the company, valued at $2,383,235.70. This trade represents a 11.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MCD. Wedbush upped their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.39.

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.