CWA Asset Management Group LLC Increases Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD – Get Rating) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,214 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,971 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s accounts for 1.1% of CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $12,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. West Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 520.0% in the third quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC now owns 124 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. WD Rutherford LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Cowa LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. 66.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, SVP Catherine A. Hoovel sold 2,876 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total transaction of $776,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $319,680. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Catherine A. Hoovel sold 2,876 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total value of $776,520.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $319,680. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 3,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.69, for a total value of $1,030,606.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 34,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,271,978.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,122 shares of company stock worth $2,177,681 in the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on MCD. Barclays boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $295.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 21st. KeyCorp dropped their price target on McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $280.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $263.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $288.80.

McDonald’s Trading Down 1.2 %

MCD stock opened at $267.20 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $195.46 billion, a PE ratio of 32.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.62. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $228.34 and a 12-month high of $281.67. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $267.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $262.86.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 31st. The fast-food giant reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.13. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 120.10% and a net margin of 26.65%. The firm had revenue of $5.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.23 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 10.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $1.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 28th. This represents a $6.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.81%.

McDonald’s Company Profile

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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, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.