Lafayette Investments Inc. Buys 116 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Lafayette Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,247 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $963,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Retirement Group LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on MCD shares. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, March 25th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.72.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD traded up $0.42 during trading on Friday, hitting $271.40. 763,048 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,214,859. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.68 billion, a PE ratio of 23.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $245.73 and a 12-month high of $302.39. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $283.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $280.62.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.22% and a negative return on equity of 171.96%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.74%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.