Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 599,745 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 69,049,310 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 599,745 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.10% of McDonald’s worth $20,473,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Independent Wealth Network Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 863 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Concentric Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Concentric Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,551 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $756,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Paragon Capital Management Ltd lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 1,374 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Mechanics Financial Corp grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 5,331 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,581,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,268 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on MCD. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Wedbush dropped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $315.14.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD opened at $253.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.70 billion, a PE ratio of 21.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $245.73 and a fifty-two week high of $302.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $265.62 and its 200 day moving average is $281.12.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued 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 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 company earned $2.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.17 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 56.71%.

Insider Activity

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,140,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,096 shares of company stock worth $1,127,678 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.