McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Acquired by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 24.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,054,387 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 794,536 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.57% of McDonald’s worth $1,175,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 110.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. Truist Financial reduced their price target on McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.61.

McDonald’s Trading Down 1.8 %

McDonald’s stock opened at $306.95 on Monday. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $326.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $301.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $298.20.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued 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 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. On average, research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total transaction of $436,134.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $453,882. The trade was a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,996 shares of company stock worth $8,897,534 in the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.