Utah Retirement Systems Increases Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Utah Retirement Systems increased its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 119,512 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Utah Retirement Systems’ holdings in McDonald’s were worth $34,645,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MCD. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 110.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $286,395.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,263,290. This represents a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,136 shares of company stock valued at $8,676,247 over the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the subject of a number of research reports. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup lowered their price target on McDonald’s from $360.00 to $353.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wedbush boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $322.74.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $314.61 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $308.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $299.93. The firm has a market cap of $224.97 billion, a PE ratio of 27.62, 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 results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

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.