Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Makes New $4.06 Million Investment in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 14,014 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $4,063,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Morse Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 12.8% in the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 3,385 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,031,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald's by 11.6% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,537 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's in the third quarter worth about $1,647,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in McDonald's by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,544 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $2,906,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the third quarter valued at about $394,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of MCD traded up $3.61 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $312.71. 1,445,669 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,713,770. The company's 50 day moving average is $307.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $299.25. The company has a market capitalization of $223.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.46, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. McDonald's Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. McDonald's's payout ratio is 62.16%.

Insider Activity

In other McDonald's news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,497 shares of company stock worth $8,461,400 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MCD. Bank of America lifted their price target on McDonald's from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on McDonald's from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on McDonald's from $360.00 to $353.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $322.87.

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.