Meredith Wealth Planning Acquires 45 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Meredith Wealth Planning boosted its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,197 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Meredith Wealth Planning’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $347,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Creative Planning grew its position in McDonald’s by 1.4% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 329,417 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $100,311,000 after purchasing an additional 4,480 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at $222,000. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at $649,000. Seamount Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 3.0% in the third quarter. Seamount Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,368 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $721,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AA Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 14.0% in the third quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,400 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $731,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MCD. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.5 %

MCD stock opened at $308.59 on Monday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90. The firm has a market cap of $221.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $291.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $292.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. Equities analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,906 shares of company stock valued at $5,406,382 in the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.