McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Acquired by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. increased its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 37,105 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,161 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $10,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,833,510,000 after acquiring an additional 220,365 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,082,894 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,592,892,000 after buying an additional 128,800 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,803,833 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,682,473,000 after buying an additional 52,195 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% in 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. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,765,049 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $841,966,000 after buying an additional 19,867 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

McDonald’s stock opened at $308.17 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $294.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $295.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.18 billion, a PE ratio of 27.06, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. Research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 62.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at $2,807,201.25. The trade was a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total value of $319,918.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,187 shares in the company, valued at $2,383,235.70. This represents a 11.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.