W Advisors LLC Purchases 62 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

W Advisors LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,314 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. W Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,449,565 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $18,032,353,000 after purchasing an additional 262,147 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in McDonald’s by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,200,473 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,423,773,000 after acquiring an additional 151,161 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in McDonald’s by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,390,035 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,401,570,000 after acquiring an additional 237,532 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in McDonald’s by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,593,760 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,209,171,000 after acquiring an additional 199,657 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in McDonald’s by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,911,764 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,159,877,000 after acquiring an additional 26,147 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD stock traded down $2.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $270.32. The company had a trading volume of 2,642,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,812,742. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $245.73 and a 52-week high of $302.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $279.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $282.35. The company has a market capitalization of $194.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.01). McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 180.54% and a net margin of 33.36%. The company had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.63 EPS. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.18 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 56.71%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,696,517.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,696,517.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reduced their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $330.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $317.74.

McDonald’s Company Profile

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.