RiverFront Investment Group LLC Purchases 347 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

RiverFront Investment Group LLC increased its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,702 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $20,341,391,000 after purchasing an additional 526,466 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,833,510,000 after buying an additional 220,365 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position 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 valued at $4,592,892,000 after acquiring an additional 128,800 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth $2,725,190,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,803,833 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,682,473,000 after purchasing an additional 52,195 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE:MCD opened at $306.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $219.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $301.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $298.10. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32.

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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 62.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at $1,720,778.28. The trade was a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. This trade represents a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,405 shares of company stock worth $9,886,656. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of several analyst reports. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Wedbush upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

McDonald’s Company 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.