1,076 Shares in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Bought by New Century Financial Group LLC

New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 1,076 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $303,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,049,310 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $20,473,811,000 after buying an additional 599,745 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,684,899,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,347,048 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,178,474,000 after purchasing an additional 987,099 shares during the last quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 141,160.9% during the 4th quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 5,613,710 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,664,521,000 after purchasing an additional 5,609,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,425,674 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,589,073,000 after purchasing an additional 35,639 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,696,517.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.02, for a total value of $220,016.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19 shares in the company, valued at $5,225.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,593 shares of company stock worth $1,472,518. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MCD. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on McDonald’s from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $302.00 to $288.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on McDonald’s in a report on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $288.00 price target on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $313.89.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of MCD stock opened at $250.00 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $245.73 and a 12 month high of $302.39. The company has a market capitalization of $180.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $261.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $278.12.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.01). McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.36% and a negative return on equity of 180.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 56.71%.

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.