Howard Capital Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,903 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 252 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,421,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in McDonald’s by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,833,510,000 after purchasing an additional 220,365 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in McDonald’s by 0.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 128,800 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 49,106 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in McDonald’s by 0.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 19,867 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in McDonald’s by 1.1% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,015,441 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $613,722,000 after acquiring an additional 22,780 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MCD shares. Truist Financial lowered their price target 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. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target 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. Ten equities research 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,807,201.25. The trade was a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,106 shares of company stock worth $6,382,112 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $304.76 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $292.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $294.10. The company has a market capitalization of $218.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90.

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

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

McDonald’s Company 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.