Certuity LLC Has $1.79 Million Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Certuity LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 169.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,046 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 3,798 shares during the period. Certuity LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norden Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 3,845 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,140,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 13,456 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,990,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Field & Main Bank increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 7,841 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,325,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 51,807 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $15,361,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Finally, Amica Mutual Insurance Co. increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 97.0% in the 4th quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 26,964 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $7,995,000 after purchasing an additional 13,279 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on MCD. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on McDonald’s from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Wedbush decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $317.67.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCD traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $273.46. The stock had a trading volume of 4,357,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,282,261. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $245.73 and a 12-month high of $302.39. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $281.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $282.15. The stock has a market cap of $197.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.01). McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 171.96% and a net margin of 33.22%. The company had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.63 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 57.74%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

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

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.