First Trust Advisors LP Has $72.68 Million Position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 29.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 250,700 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after acquiring an additional 56,575 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in McDonald's were worth $72,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Transactions at McDonald's

In related news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. This represents a 15.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were 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 approximately $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,436 shares of company stock valued at $8,760,472 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of MCD traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $318.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,209,437 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,586,294. The firm has a market cap of $227.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50 day moving average of $307.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $299.47. 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 earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. As a group, analysts forecast that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald's's payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on MCD. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of McDonald's from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of McDonald's from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on McDonald's from $310.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on McDonald's from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine equities research 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 presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $322.74.

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.