McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Purchased by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,451 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 2,346 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $10,215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC now owns 1,051 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 80,441 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $21,191,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services now owns 11,025 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,269,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,522 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 7.7% during the third quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,227 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MCD. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, March 25th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 5th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.69.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD traded down $0.82 on Friday, reaching $274.78. 2,295,418 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,254,003. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $245.73 and a 1-year high of $302.39. The company has a 50-day moving average of $282.06 and a 200-day moving average of $281.37. The firm has a market cap of $198.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 171.96% and a net margin of 33.22%. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.59 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.74%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

About McDonald’s

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.