D.A. Davidson & CO. Acquires 9,169 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 119,655 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,169 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $34,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup increased their target price on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Guggenheim downgraded McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of MCD stock opened at $308.59 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $221.14 billion, a PE ratio of 27.09, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $291.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $292.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 2.29%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total transaction of $321,457.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,716,155. This represents a 10.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,906 shares of company stock worth $5,406,382. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s 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.