Parthenon LLC Grows Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Parthenon LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,481 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 168 shares during the quarter. Parthenon LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $4,198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MCD. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth $1,394,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at $1,628,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,694,403,000 after buying an additional 49,106 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,186 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $14,978,000 after buying an additional 2,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,471,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $301.71 on Thursday. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $292.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $293.44. The company has a market capitalization of $216.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,882. The trade was a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total value of $321,457.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,286 shares in the company, valued at $2,716,155. This trade represents a 10.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,106 shares of company stock worth $6,368,814. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Baird R W lowered McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.