West Paces Advisors Inc. Increases Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

West Paces Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,851 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,438,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Independent Wealth Network Inc. raised its stake in McDonald’s by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 863 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 1,374 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,737 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $985,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Unique Wealth LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 3,249 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $963,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patron Partners LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 5,158 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of MCD traded down $0.80 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $265.43. 2,792,986 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,243,191. The company has a market capitalization of $191.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $245.73 and a 52 week high of $302.39. The company’s 50 day moving average is $284.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $280.75.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.12. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.22% and a negative return on equity of 171.96%. The business had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.59 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.35 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.74%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MCD shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. BTIG Research downgraded McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.72.

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.