Edge Capital Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Edge Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 25.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,388 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 894 shares during the quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,833,510,000 after buying an additional 220,365 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,082,894 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,592,892,000 after buying an additional 128,800 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,694,403,000 after buying an additional 49,106 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,765,049 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $841,966,000 after buying an additional 19,867 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,015,441 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $613,722,000 after acquiring an additional 22,780 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

McDonald’s stock opened at $304.76 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $292.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $294.10.

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, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

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 issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.60, for a total value of $334,755.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $475,176. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,106 shares of company stock valued at $6,382,112. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.