J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Acquires 2,203 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,744 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,203 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $5,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Independent Wealth Network Inc. raised its position in McDonald’s by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 863 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Paragon Capital Management Ltd raised its position in McDonald’s by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 1,374 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,737 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $985,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Unique Wealth LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 3,249 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $963,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Patron Partners LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 5,158 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,529,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MCD shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. BTIG Research lowered shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.72.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD stock opened at $271.99 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $245.73 and a one year high of $302.39. The stock has a market cap of $196.11 billion, a PE ratio of 23.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $283.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $280.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.12. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.22% and a negative return on equity of 171.96%. The business had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.59 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.74%.

About McDonald’s

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.