AIA Group Ltd Increases Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

AIA Group Ltd increased its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 65.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,212 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,960 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $5,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mattern Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 30,110 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $8,729,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Bell Bank increased its stake in McDonald’s by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Bell Bank now owns 12,699 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,681,000 after buying an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,628,000. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,512 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,888,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,471,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. This trade represents a 15.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 10,459 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.71, for a total value of $3,228,797.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,918.26. This trade represents a 69.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,996 shares of company stock worth $8,897,534 in the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $306.95 on Monday. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $326.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $301.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $298.20. The firm has a market cap of $219.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. As a group, research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.61.

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.