Advisory Research Inc. Has $1.35 Million Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Advisory Research Inc. boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 19.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,668 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 756 shares during the period. Advisory Research Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth $2,725,190,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth $703,074,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,054,387 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,175,326,000 after buying an additional 794,536 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. grew its position in McDonald’s by 1,547.1% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 641,950 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $179,715,000 after acquiring an additional 602,976 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in McDonald’s by 43,591.6% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 590,711 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $171,241,000 after acquiring an additional 589,359 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MCD. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $322.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,720,778.28. This trade represents a 15.23 % 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, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,214,275.25. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,497 shares of company stock worth $8,461,400 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Down 1.1 %

McDonald’s stock opened at $309.19 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $220.90 billion, a PE ratio of 27.15, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $307.31 and its 200 day moving average is $299.25. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. Sell-side analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

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.