Synergy Investment Management LLC Purchases Shares of 928 McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 928 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $269,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in McDonald’s by 542.9% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $244,174,000 after purchasing an additional 677,139 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $171,241,000 after buying an additional 589,359 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $121,254,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 3,580.1% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 268,650 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $81,807,000 after acquiring an additional 261,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in McDonald’s by 26,948.9% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,752 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $66,023,000 after acquiring an additional 226,910 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total transaction of $309,270.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % 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 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $303.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $216.98 billion, a PE ratio of 26.66, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $294.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $295.64.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MCD shares. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.61.

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.