McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Purchased by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,280 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 220,365 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $4,592,892,000 after acquiring an additional 128,800 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 52,195 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 129,843 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 19,867 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD stock opened at $305.66 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $218.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $294.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $295.83.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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, analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.16%.

McDonald’s Profile

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.