McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Acquired by Fernwood Investment Management LLC

Fernwood Investment Management LLC raised its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Fernwood Investment Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,449,565 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $18,032,353,000 after buying an additional 262,147 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,200,473 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,423,773,000 after buying an additional 151,161 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 4.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,390,035 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,401,570,000 after buying an additional 237,532 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 4.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,593,760 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,209,171,000 after buying an additional 199,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,911,764 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,159,877,000 after buying an additional 26,147 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $291.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, BTIG Research cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $318.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCD traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $273.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,184,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,269,845. The company has a market cap of $197.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $245.73 and a one year high of $302.39. The business’s 50-day moving average is $281.68 and its 200-day moving average is $281.96.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.22% and a negative return on equity of 171.96%. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.59 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 57.74%.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.