Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Acquires 3,927 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 51.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,554 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 3,927 shares during the quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,833,510,000 after purchasing an additional 220,365 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in McDonald’s by 0.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,694,403,000 after purchasing an additional 49,106 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,765,049 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $841,966,000 after acquiring an additional 19,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,015,441 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $613,722,000 after acquiring an additional 22,780 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.60, for a total transaction of $334,755.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $475,176. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total value of $962,432.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 9,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,964,892.08. This trade represents a 24.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 22,205 shares of company stock worth $6,703,569. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $304.76 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $292.61 and its 200 day moving average is $293.92. The stock has a market cap of $218.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. Analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Wedbush increased their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup increased their target price on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.61.

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.