Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 526,466 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.79% of McDonald’s worth $20,341,391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 worth $4,833,510,000 after buying an additional 220,365 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted 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 purchasing an additional 128,800 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% in 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,694,202 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,650,692,000 after purchasing an additional 129,843 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 19,867 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MCD shares. Bank of America raised their target price on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.39.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD stock opened at $305.07 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $217.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $298.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $297.46.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released 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, analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid 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 currently 62.16%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. The trade was a 15.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total value of $436,134.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $453,882. This trade represents a 49.00 % 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 ninety days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.