Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC Grows Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,213 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the quarter. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,833,510,000 after acquiring an additional 220,365 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,082,894 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,592,892,000 after purchasing an additional 128,800 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,803,833 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,682,473,000 after purchasing an additional 52,195 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in McDonald’s by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,694,202 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,650,692,000 after purchasing an additional 129,843 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 0.7% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,765,049 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $841,966,000 after purchasing an additional 19,867 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Up 3.6 %

MCD stock opened at $321.52 on Monday. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $323.17. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $295.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $296.37. The stock has a market cap of $229.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.23, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MCD shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, February 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total value of $84,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total transaction of $309,270.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,720,778.28. This trade represents a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

About McDonald’s

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.