Baillie Gifford & Co. Has $42.89 Million Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 147,954 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,799 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $42,890,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MCD. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. KeyCorp upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wedbush upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.61.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. This trade represents a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,906 shares of company stock valued at $5,406,382 in the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.5 %

MCD stock opened at $308.59 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $291.98 and its 200-day moving average is $292.90. The company has a market cap of $221.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $317.90.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.16%.

McDonald’s Company 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, Spain, and the U.K.