Heritage Financial Services LLC Has $866,000 Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Heritage Financial Services LLC grew its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,921 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the quarter. Heritage Financial Services LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,449,565 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $18,032,353,000 after buying an additional 262,147 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,200,473 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,423,773,000 after buying an additional 151,161 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,390,035 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,401,570,000 after buying an additional 237,532 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,593,760 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,209,171,000 after purchasing an additional 199,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,911,764 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,159,877,000 after purchasing an additional 26,147 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of several research reports. Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. BTIG Research lowered shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $343.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.41.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.9 %

MCD opened at $273.09 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $245.73 and a twelve month high of $302.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $281.68 and a 200-day moving average of $281.74. The stock has a market cap of $196.90 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.22% and a negative return on equity of 171.96%. McDonald’s’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 company posted $2.59 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.74%.

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.