Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 16,074,438 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 157,458 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $4,652,768,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Boltwood Capital Management lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 1,882 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Pettee Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Pettee Investors Inc. now owns 5,401 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,566,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 9,396 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,724,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 736 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Barn Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 871 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the subject of a number of 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, March 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $312.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $223.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $302.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $298.35.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) 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, equities analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total transaction of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,720,778.28. The trade was a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total value of $84,225.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,996 shares of company stock valued at $8,897,534 in the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.