Natixis Acquires 117,859 Shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Natixis raised its stake in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 307.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 156,179 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after buying an additional 117,859 shares during the period. Natixis' holdings in McDonald's were worth $45,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in shares of McDonald's in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in McDonald's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its position in McDonald's by 110.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MCD shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of McDonald's from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target 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. Barclays cut their price objective on McDonald's from $350.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald's has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $322.74.

McDonald's Stock Performance

McDonald's stock traded down $1.51 on Wednesday, reaching $317.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,852,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,581,109. McDonald's Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $326.32. The company has a market cap of $226.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.88, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. The business's fifty day moving average price is $307.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $299.47.

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

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given 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 2.23%. McDonald's's payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the firm'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 owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 27,497 shares of company stock valued at $8,461,400. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by 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.