McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Acquired by Liberty One Investment Management LLC

Liberty One Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,841 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,216 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s makes up about 3.4% of Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $27,232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jmac Enterprises LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 9,564 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,836,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Executive Wealth Management LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Executive Wealth Management LLC now owns 39,803 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $11,802,000 after buying an additional 4,963 shares in the last quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 10,853 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,218,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 19,674 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $5,834,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT raised its stake in McDonald’s by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 29,393 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $8,715,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MCD shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. BTIG Research cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, March 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.77.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD traded down $2.96 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $266.48. 1,370,916 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,225,263. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $286.66 and a 200-day moving average of $280.72. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $245.73 and a one year high of $302.39. The firm has a market cap of $192.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.16, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.12. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 171.96% and a net margin of 33.22%. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 57.74%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald’s 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.