Plancorp LLC Grows Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Plancorp LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,918 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the quarter. Plancorp LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. United Bank raised its position in McDonald’s by 3.5% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 6,446 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,963,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 233.8% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,552 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its position in McDonald’s by 10.9% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 25,203 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $7,675,000 after acquiring an additional 2,477 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in McDonald’s by 8.4% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 72,369 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $22,037,000 after acquiring an additional 5,638 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its position in McDonald’s by 15.0% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 563,777 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $168,552,000 after acquiring an additional 73,362 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.39.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $305.07 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $298.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $297.38. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $326.32. The firm has a market cap of $217.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.16%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. This trade represents a 15.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.