Meritage Portfolio Management Purchases 2,346 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,451 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,346 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $10,215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 51.9% in the third quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $345.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 5th. UBS Group cut their price target on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $318.69.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of McDonald’s stock traded down $0.82 on Friday, hitting $274.78. The stock had a trading volume of 2,295,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,254,003. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $282.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $281.37. 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 $198.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.75, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.22% and a negative return on equity of 171.96%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.74%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at $4,696,517.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Company Profile

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.