Quent Capital LLC Increases Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,321 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the quarter. Quent Capital LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $963,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 31,151.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $706,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,311,721 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 542.9% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $244,174,000 after buying an additional 677,139 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $121,254,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 3,580.1% in the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 268,650 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $81,807,000 after acquiring an additional 261,350 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 26,948.9% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,752 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $66,023,000 after acquiring an additional 226,910 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total transaction of $321,457.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,716,155. This represents a 10.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,807,201.25. This trade represents a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,406 shares of company stock worth $2,150,857 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MCD shares. Guggenheim downgraded McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $310.16 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $291.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.56. The firm has a market cap of $222.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.23, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.16%.

About McDonald’s

McDonald’s Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.