National Pension Service Buys 56,055 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

National Pension Service increased its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,521,262 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 56,055 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.21% of McDonald’s worth $440,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,833,510,000 after buying an additional 220,365 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,082,894 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,592,892,000 after purchasing an additional 128,800 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,803,833 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,682,473,000 after purchasing an additional 52,195 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 0.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,694,403,000 after purchasing an additional 49,106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in McDonald’s by 0.7% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,765,049 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $841,966,000 after buying an additional 19,867 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total transaction of $319,918.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,187 shares in the company, valued at $2,383,235.70. The trade was a 11.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,504 shares of company stock worth $9,897,305 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on MCD. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.61.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $310.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $317.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $293.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $294.65.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

McDonald’s Company Profile

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.