Topsail Wealth Management LLC Takes $590,000 Position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Topsail Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,035 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $590,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Norges Bank bought a new stake in McDonald's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,725,190,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's in the fourth quarter valued at $703,074,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 794,536 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 602,976 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised 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 valued at $171,241,000 after purchasing an additional 589,359 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of McDonald'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $286,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,978 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,263,290. This trade represents a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,136 shares of company stock worth $8,676,247. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MCD shares. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of McDonald's from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on McDonald's from $350.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald's currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $322.74.

McDonald's Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MCD traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $316.60. 2,282,688 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,573,333. McDonald's Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.80, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50 day moving average of $308.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $299.78.

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

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

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.