McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Purchased by Cozad Asset Management Inc.

Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,056 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in McDonald’s by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,833,510,000 after buying an additional 220,365 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 128,800 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,803,833 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,682,473,000 after purchasing an additional 52,195 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,694,202 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,650,692,000 after purchasing an additional 129,843 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $300.00 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $214.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $296.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $296.91. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced 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 negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was 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 owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the firm’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 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 quarter, insiders sold 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575. 0.23% of the stock is currently 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.