Level Four Advisory Services LLC Has $7.94 Million Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,377 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 813 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $7,937,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,725,190,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $703,074,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 542.9% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $244,174,000 after purchasing an additional 677,139 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 43,591.6% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 590,711 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $171,241,000 after purchasing an additional 589,359 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $20,341,391,000 after buying an additional 526,466 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,405 shares of company stock valued at $9,886,656. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD opened at $312.87 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32. The company has a market capitalization of $223.53 billion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $301.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $297.99.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. Equities analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on MCD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

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.