Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Increases Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 318,805 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,316 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $92,418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Boltwood Capital Management raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 1,882 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Pettee Investors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Pettee Investors Inc. now owns 5,401 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,566,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 9,396 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 736 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Barn Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 871 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MCD. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.39.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD stock opened at $306.83 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $219.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.94, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $326.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $297.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $297.19.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. 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, Spain, and the U.K.