Optas LLC Has $590,000 Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Optas LLC grew its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 23.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,889 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the period. Optas LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $590,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $20,341,391,000 after acquiring an additional 526,466 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,074,438 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,652,768,000 after purchasing an additional 157,458 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,652,445 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,088,037,000 after purchasing an additional 531,070 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at $2,725,190,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in McDonald’s by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,570,511,000 after buying an additional 895,896 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.07, for a total transaction of $295,850.73. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,516,496.27. This trade represents a 7.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:MCD opened at $301.57 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $311.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $302.97. The stock has a market cap of $215.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.48, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.56. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.67. The firm had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.17 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.70 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MCD. Redburn Atlantic restated a “sell” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (down previously from $319.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Argus downgraded McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective (up previously from $340.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $353.00 to $364.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $321.79.

McDonald’s 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.