Certuity LLC Increases Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Certuity LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 73.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,651 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,397 shares during the period. Certuity LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.4% during the third 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 buying an additional 220,365 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,082,894 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,592,892,000 after buying an additional 128,800 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% in 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 buying an additional 49,106 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 0.7% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 31,151.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $706,202,000 after buying an additional 2,311,721 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $310.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $291.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $291.56. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. Research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total value of $321,457.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,286 shares in the company, valued at $2,716,155. This trade represents a 10.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value of $989,121.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,406 shares of company stock worth $2,150,857 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Baird R W lowered McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.61.

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, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.