Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 376,819 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,052 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.05% of McDonald’s worth $111,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.8% during the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 20,835 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $5,489,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the period. Breakwater Capital Group bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at about $251,000. Lincoln National Corp increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 7.4% during the third quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 25,573 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $6,737,000 after buying an additional 1,767 shares during the period. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 3.4% during the third quarter. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC now owns 7,545 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,988,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.5% during the third quarter. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC now owns 9,747 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,568,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other McDonald’s news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.02, for a total transaction of $220,016.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,225.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,140,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,096 shares of company stock worth $1,127,678. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $258.06. The company had a trading volume of 3,381,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,300,264. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $245.73 and a 52-week high of $302.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $273.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $283.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 180.74% and a net margin of 33.36%. The business had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.63 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 56.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wedbush decreased their price target on McDonald’s from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $291.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $325.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, March 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $317.74.

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.