Xponance Inc. Increases Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 133,473 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,231 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $39,576,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Retirement Group LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MCD shares. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, March 25th. BTIG Research cut shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Nine investment 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.72.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of MCD stock traded up $1.03 on Thursday, hitting $270.98. The stock had a trading volume of 3,297,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,233,913. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $283.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $280.69. 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 one year low of $245.73 and a one year high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 171.96% and a net margin of 33.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 EPS for the current 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 issued a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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.