McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Stake Increased by Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC

Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,502 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 110.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was 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 represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total value of $84,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at $2,214,275.25. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the subject of several recent research reports. 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 research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.39.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE MCD opened at $305.07 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $298.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $297.46. The company has a market cap of $217.96 billion, a PE ratio of 26.78, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 62.16%.

McDonald’s 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.