Ballast Inc. Boosts Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Ballast Inc. lifted its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,381 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the quarter. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 103.4% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 413 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $17,266,000 after buying an additional 5,007 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 516,408 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $127,697,000 after buying an additional 23,643 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,108,000. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 59.7% in the 1st quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 9,338 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,309,000 after buying an additional 3,490 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MCD shares. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. TD Cowen reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $345.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $281.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.58 billion, a PE ratio of 24.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $290.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $280.93. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $245.73 and a 1 year high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.74%.

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.