World Investment Advisors Grows Stock Position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

World Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 28.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,605 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after buying an additional 1,930 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors' holdings in McDonald's were worth $2,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,725,190,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $703,074,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 worth $1,175,326,000 after buying an additional 794,536 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in McDonald's by 43,591.6% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 590,711 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $171,241,000 after buying an additional 589,359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in McDonald's by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $20,341,391,000 after buying an additional 526,466 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at McDonald's

In related 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 value of $3,255,525.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares of the company's stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total value of $84,225.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,214,275.25. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,497 shares of company stock worth $8,461,400. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MCD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on McDonald's from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald's in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of McDonald's from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of McDonald's from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $323.30.

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McDonald's Stock Performance

MCD stock opened at $299.68 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $214.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. The firm's fifty day moving average is $304.34 and its 200 day moving average is $298.72. McDonald's Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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, analysts forecast that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.16%.

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.

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