National Pension Service Increases Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

National Pension Service lifted its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,521,262 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,055 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $440,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Old Port Advisors grew its stake in McDonald’s by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 1,027 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 74.8% in the third quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,058 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736 shares during the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 9,962 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,031,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,451 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,358,000 after acquiring an additional 3,275 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $225,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MCD shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. 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. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total value of $319,918.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,383,235.70. This represents a 11.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing 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 dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,504 shares of company stock worth $9,897,305. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Up 1.1 %

MCD stock opened at $310.84 on Wednesday. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $317.90. The company has a market cap of $222.75 billion, a PE ratio of 27.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $293.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $294.65.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.