Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Buys 1,316 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 318,805 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,316 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $92,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 110.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE MCD opened at $306.83 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $297.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $297.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.94, 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 announced 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 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.39.

McDonald’s Profile

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.