Meredith Wealth Planning Acquires 45 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Meredith Wealth Planning boosted its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,197 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $308.59 on Monday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90. The company has a market capitalization of $221.14 billion, a PE ratio of 27.09, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $291.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $292.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,807,201.25. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total transaction of $321,457.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,716,155. This represents a 10.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,906 shares of company stock valued at $5,406,382. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of 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 reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

McDonald’s Company 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.