Sterling Financial Planning Inc. Has $605,000 Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Sterling Financial Planning Inc. grew its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,042 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 91 shares during the quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 106,340.3% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,235,890 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $5,069,234,000 after purchasing an additional 19,217,818 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth $2,341,360,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 10,702.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,174,426 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $644,739,000 after acquiring an additional 2,154,297 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1,189.7% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,191,692 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $541,962,000 after acquiring an additional 2,021,754 shares during the period. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 31,574.5% during the second quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 1,628,069 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $162,807,000 after acquiring an additional 1,622,929 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, March 25th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $343.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.72.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.4 %

MCD stock traded up $1.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $270.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,297,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,248,558. The company has a market cap of $195.38 billion, a PE ratio of 23.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $245.73 and a 12 month high of $302.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $283.86 and its 200-day moving average is $280.69.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 171.96% and a net margin of 33.22%. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. Analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.74%.

About McDonald’s

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.