Kovack Advisors Inc. Has $1.48 Million Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,996 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CX Institutional increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 8,024 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,114,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Apeiron RIA LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 10.6% in the third quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC now owns 835 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. TFG Advisers LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 7.4% in the third quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 5,974 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,574,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the period. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO increased its stake in McDonald’s by 20.0% in the third quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 8,699 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,292,000 after acquiring an additional 1,450 shares during the period. Finally, Zullo Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in McDonald’s by 5.4% in the third quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 6,228 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,641,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MCD. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $291.00 to $341.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.41.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCD traded down $2.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $273.09. The stock had a trading volume of 3,636,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,338,426. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $245.73 and a one year high of $302.39. The company has a market cap of $196.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s 50 day moving average is $281.68 and its 200-day moving average is $281.53.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results 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. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.22% and a negative return on equity of 171.96%. The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 57.74%.

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.