Safir Wealth Advisors LLC Takes $212,000 Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Safir Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 715 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000. McDonald’s makes up about 0.2% of Safir Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Covestor Ltd increased its position in McDonald’s by 103.4% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 413 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 7.7% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $17,266,000 after acquiring an additional 5,007 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in McDonald’s by 4.8% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 516,408 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $127,697,000 after buying an additional 23,643 shares in the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,108,000. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 59.7% during the first quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 9,338 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 3,490 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD traded up $1.09 on Thursday, reaching $283.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 593,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,140,801. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $290.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $280.92. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $245.73 and a 12-month high of $302.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $204.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.38, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.72.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.59 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 57.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MCD. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler raised their price target on McDonald’s from $273.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $343.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.