McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Purchased by Capital Investment Counsel Inc

Capital Investment Counsel Inc increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,924 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth about $1,394,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth about $1,628,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,694,403,000 after acquiring an additional 49,106 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s by 6.5% during the third quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,186 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $14,978,000 after acquiring an additional 2,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth about $2,471,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the 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 directly owns 9,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,155. This represents a 10.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,106 shares of company stock valued at $6,368,814 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MCD opened at $302.89 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $292.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $293.51. The company has a market cap of $217.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.59, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced 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 net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. Research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MCD shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.