V Square Quantitative Management LLC Raises Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,345 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 546 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,999,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Baird R W cut shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Guggenheim cut shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $309.99 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $291.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $292.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74.

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

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total value of $321,457.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,906 shares of company stock worth $5,406,382 over the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Profile

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.