Vertex Planning Partners LLC Increases Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Vertex Planning Partners LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,654 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 218 shares during the quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Norges Bank purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,725,190,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $703,074,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in McDonald’s by 542.9% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $244,174,000 after acquiring an additional 677,139 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 43,591.6% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 590,711 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $171,241,000 after purchasing an additional 589,359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 worth $20,341,391,000 after buying an additional 526,466 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on MCD. Bank of America boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $312.87 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $326.32. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $301.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $297.99. The company has a market cap of $223.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.47, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. Analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were 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 $1,720,778.28. This represents a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total value of $84,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,405 shares of company stock valued at $9,886,656 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.