Seeds Investor LLC Acquires 111 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Seeds Investor LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 11.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,064 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Seeds Investor LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MCD. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at $4,063,000. Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $528,000. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 57,674 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $16,720,000 after purchasing an additional 2,894 shares in the last quarter. Crux Wealth Advisors bought a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth $490,000. Finally, Nicolet Bankshares Inc. boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. now owns 8,234 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,387,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $309.84 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $306.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $299.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.37 billion, a PE ratio of 27.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month 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 the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total value of $84,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,497 shares of company stock valued at $8,461,400. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MCD shares. Bank of America upped their price target on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. KeyCorp increased their price target on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.87.

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.