Achmea Investment Management B.V. Purchases 1,836 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 32.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,529 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,836 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,183,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mattern Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 30,110 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $8,729,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Bell Bank boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Bell Bank now owns 12,699 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,681,000 after buying an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at $1,628,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,694,403,000 after buying an additional 49,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integral Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,512 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,888,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE MCD opened at $300.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $296.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $296.79. The company has a market capitalization of $214.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $326.32.

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

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on MCD shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at $2,807,201.25. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575 over the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.