Alberta Investment Management Corp Acquires New Stake in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new stake in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 35,940 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $10,419,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald's by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $4,833,510,000 after purchasing an additional 220,365 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in McDonald's by 0.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,082,894 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $4,592,892,000 after acquiring an additional 128,800 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in McDonald's by 0.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,694,403,000 after acquiring an additional 49,106 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 0.7% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,765,049 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $841,966,000 after purchasing an additional 19,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 31,151.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $706,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,311,721 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD traded up $1.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $304.59. 1,469,655 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,150,121. The company has a market cap of $218.27 billion, a PE ratio of 26.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald's Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $317.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $292.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $293.51.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald's's payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on McDonald's from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp increased their price target on McDonald's from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays increased their price target on McDonald's from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wedbush increased their price target on McDonald's from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on McDonald's from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $323.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the business'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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,214,275.25. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at $2,807,201.25. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,106 shares of company stock valued at $6,368,814. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.