Guardian Partners Inc. Invests $15.36 Million in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 53,522 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $15,355,000. McDonald's accounts for 1.6% of Guardian Partners Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth about $576,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of McDonald's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $77,417,000. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth $1,103,000. Umpqua Bank boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 8,776 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $2,471,000 after buying an additional 1,573 shares during the period. Finally, Intellus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in McDonald's in the 4th quarter valued at $873,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald's Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD traded up $1.34 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $307.01. 2,637,153 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,336,565. McDonald's Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $326.32. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $299.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $297.65. The company has a market cap of $219.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.95, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71.

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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 (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MCD. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on McDonald's from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on McDonald's from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of McDonald's from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of McDonald's from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $323.39.

Insider Transactions at McDonald's

In other news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. This trade represents a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,405 shares of company stock worth $9,886,656. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

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.