Cerity Partners LLC Increases Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 453,804 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,128 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $132,208,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Mattern Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 30,110 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $8,729,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the period. Bell Bank increased its stake in McDonald’s by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Bell Bank now owns 12,699 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,681,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,628,000. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in McDonald’s by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,512 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,888,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,471,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the 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 completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,497 shares of company stock worth $8,461,400. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.30.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $299.68 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $304.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $298.80. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $326.32. The company has a market capitalization of $214.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.