Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 794,536 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 24.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,054,387 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 794,536 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,175,326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Boltwood Capital Management raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 1,882 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Pettee Investors Inc. raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Pettee Investors Inc. now owns 5,401 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,566,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 9,396 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,724,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. raised its position in McDonald’s by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 736 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $213,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Barn Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 871 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of MCD stock opened at $306.95 on Monday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $326.32. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $301.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $298.20. The stock has a market cap of $219.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.95, a P/E/G 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 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, equities analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MCD. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. KeyCorp increased their price target on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,214,275.25. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total transaction of $309,270.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. This represents a 15.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,996 shares of company stock valued at $8,897,534 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.