Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Increases Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT boosted its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 176,243 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 2,018 shares during the quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $51,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.8% in the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. GDS Wealth Management boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 2,504 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management increased its stake in McDonald’s by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 1,882 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. McAdam LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.7% during the third quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 2,176 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $663,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, LCM Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.3% in the third quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 2,887 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $879,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Price Performance

McDonald’s stock opened at $302.89 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $317.90. The company’s 50-day moving average is $292.45 and its 200 day moving average is $293.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,106 shares of company stock worth $6,368,814 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America increased their target price on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut 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. Ten equities 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, the stock 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.