Spire Wealth Management Buys 672 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,094 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 672 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $5,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,912 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,031,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $166,000. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 10.4% during the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,352 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,673,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, WESPAC Advisors LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth $224,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock traded down $1.02 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $269.30. 2,478,555 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,311,579. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $279.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $282.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.95, a PEG ratio of 3.01 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.01). McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.36% and a negative return on equity of 180.54%. The company had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.71%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,140,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’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 transaction of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the completion of 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. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MCD. Wedbush decreased their price target on McDonald’s from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $343.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $317.74.

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.