Seven Mile Advisory Acquires 167 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Seven Mile Advisory lifted its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,296 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the quarter. Seven Mile Advisory’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $666,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,725,190,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $703,074,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 43,591.6% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 590,711 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $171,241,000 after acquiring an additional 589,359 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in McDonald’s by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $20,341,391,000 after acquiring an additional 526,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its stake in McDonald’s by 518.1% in the 4th quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 348,119 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $100,916,000 after purchasing an additional 291,802 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,214,275.25. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total value of $436,134.05. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $453,882. The trade was a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 28,996 shares of company stock valued at $8,897,534. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE MCD opened at $306.95 on Monday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $326.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $301.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $298.20. The stock has a market cap of $219.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.95, a P/E/G 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 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. As a group, analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America raised their target price on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

McDonald’s 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.