Brighton Jones LLC Purchases 397 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,749 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,001,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,449,565 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $18,032,353,000 after buying an additional 262,147 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,200,473 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,423,773,000 after purchasing an additional 151,161 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 4.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,390,035 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,401,570,000 after purchasing an additional 237,532 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,593,760 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,209,171,000 after purchasing an additional 199,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in McDonald’s by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,911,764 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,159,877,000 after purchasing an additional 26,147 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $273.04 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $280.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $282.33. The company has a market capitalization of $196.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $245.73 and a 1-year high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.22% and a negative return on equity of 171.96%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.63 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 57.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, March 25th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $316.93.

About McDonald’s

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.