McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Purchased by Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.

Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. raised its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,607 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the quarter. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays increased their target price on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value of $989,121.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,807,201.25. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 9,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,155. This trade represents a 10.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,406 shares of company stock worth $2,150,857 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $310.16 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $291.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $291.56. The company has a market cap of $222.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.23, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.90.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio 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, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.