Bolthouse Investments LLC Takes Position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Bolthouse Investments LLC acquired a new position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,253 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $653,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Norges Bank bought a new stake in McDonald's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,725,190,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $703,074,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,054,387 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,175,326,000 after buying an additional 794,536 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 1,547.1% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 641,950 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $179,715,000 after acquiring an additional 602,976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 43,591.6% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 590,711 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $171,241,000 after purchasing an additional 589,359 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MCD shares. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of McDonald's from $360.00 to $353.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of McDonald's from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on McDonald's from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $322.74.

McDonald's Trading Down 0.7 %

MCD stock traded down $2.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $314.61. 3,034,121 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,567,219. The stock has a market capitalization of $224.78 billion, a PE ratio of 27.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $308.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $299.83. McDonald's Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $326.32.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. As a group, research analysts expect that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.25%. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald's news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 3,200 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total value of $962,432.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 9,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,964,892.08. This trade represents a 24.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,136 shares of company stock valued at $8,676,247 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

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.