Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC Buys 2,228 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC grew its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 26.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 10,787 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,228 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s makes up 1.0% of Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in McDonald’s by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,449,565 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $18,032,353,000 after acquiring an additional 262,147 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in McDonald’s by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,200,473 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,423,773,000 after acquiring an additional 151,161 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in McDonald’s by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,390,035 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,401,570,000 after acquiring an additional 237,532 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in McDonald’s by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,593,760 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,209,171,000 after acquiring an additional 199,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in McDonald’s by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,911,764 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,159,877,000 after acquiring an additional 26,147 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. BTIG Research downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $343.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.41.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE MCD opened at $273.09 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $281.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $281.74. The stock has a market cap of $196.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 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.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.