Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 27,275 McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 27,275 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $8,289,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in McDonald’s by 84.1% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 141,775 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $41,422,000 after purchasing an additional 64,757 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 236.7% during the 3rd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 6,502 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,976,000 after buying an additional 4,571 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 143,492 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $43,606,000 after buying an additional 3,774 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 58,515 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $17,096,000 after buying an additional 954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth $1,120,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Argus upgraded McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Oppenheimer upgraded McDonald’s from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $355.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $372.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $339.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 4,692 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.00, for a total value of $1,553,052.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 6,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,052,200. The trade was a 43.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,486 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total transaction of $795,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,268 shares in the company, valued at $2,005,760. This represents a 28.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 74,143 shares of company stock worth $24,517,724 over the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $326.41 on Monday. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $283.47 and a 1-year high of $341.75. The company has a market capitalization of $231.88 billion, a PE ratio of 27.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50-day moving average of $320.28 and a 200-day moving average of $311.51.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.81 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 343.90% and a net margin of 31.85%.The company’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be given a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.26%.

About McDonald’s

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is a global quick-service restaurant company best known for its hamburgers, French fries and breakfast offerings. The company develops, operates and franchises a system of restaurants that sell a range of food and beverage items, including signature products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, McCafé coffee beverages and a variety of salads, desserts and seasonal menu items. McDonald’s serves customers through company-operated restaurants and franchised locations, and it supports sales via dine-in, drive-thru, digital ordering platforms and third-party delivery partnerships.

Founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald as a single San Bernardino, California restaurant, the business was transformed into a franchising model after Ray Kroc joined in the mid-1950s and led the brand’s national and international expansion.