Wedbush Securities Inc. Buys 1,286 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,649 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,286 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $8,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in McDonald’s by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $20,341,391,000 after buying an additional 526,466 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,074,438 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,652,768,000 after acquiring an additional 157,458 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,082,894 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,592,892,000 after acquiring an additional 128,800 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,725,190,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,803,833 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,682,473,000 after purchasing an additional 52,195 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total transaction of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,720,778.28. This represents a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 10,459 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.71, for a total transaction of $3,228,797.89. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,606 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,918.26. This trade represents a 69.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 27,497 shares of company stock valued at $8,461,400. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Down 5.8 %

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $299.68 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $326.32. The stock has a market cap of $214.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s fifty day moving average is $304.34 and its 200-day moving average is $298.72.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on MCD shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $360.00 to $353.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.30.

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.