Advisors Capital Management LLC Buys 6,170 Shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 178,703 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after purchasing an additional 6,170 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $51,804,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MCD. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of McDonald's in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in shares of McDonald's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald's by 110.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald's during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at McDonald's

In other McDonald's news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. The trade was a 15.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of McDonald'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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,497 shares of company stock valued at $8,461,400 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McDonald's Price Performance

McDonald's stock traded up $3.61 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $312.71. 1,445,669 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,578,517. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $307.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $299.25. McDonald's Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $326.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued 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 anticipate that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective 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. Barclays raised their price objective on McDonald's from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wedbush increased their target price on McDonald's from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of McDonald's from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of McDonald's from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $322.87.

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.