Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Acquires New Position in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 27,275 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $8,289,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. WD Rutherford LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. WD Rutherford LLC now owns 3,261 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $991,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 1.4% during the third quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,423 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.0% in the third quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 1,771 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.3% in the third quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,032 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,352,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, CFO4Life Group LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 2.1% during the third quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 1,669 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 6,201 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.29, for a total value of $2,066,731.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,291 shares in the company, valued at $763,567.39. This represents a 73.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,486 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total transaction of $795,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,268 shares in the company, valued at $2,005,760. This trade represents a 28.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 74,143 shares of company stock valued at $24,517,724. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $326.41 on Monday. McDonald’s Corporation has a 12-month low of $283.47 and a 12-month high of $341.75. The company has a market cap of $231.88 billion, a PE ratio of 27.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $320.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $311.51.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.81 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 343.90% and a net margin of 31.85%.The firm’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $323.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird set a $335.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $339.69.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is a global quick-service restaurant company best known for its hamburgers, French fries and breakfast offerings. The company develops, operates and franchises a system of restaurants that sell a range of food and beverage items, including signature products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, McCafé coffee beverages and a variety of salads, desserts and seasonal menu items. McDonald’s serves customers through company-operated restaurants and franchised locations, and it supports sales via dine-in, drive-thru, digital ordering platforms and third-party delivery partnerships.

Founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald as a single San Bernardino, California restaurant, the business was transformed into a franchising model after Ray Kroc joined in the mid-1950s and led the brand’s national and international expansion.