UP Strategic Wealth Investment Advisors LLC Buys 279 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

UP Strategic Wealth Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 17.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,836 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 279 shares during the quarter. UP Strategic Wealth Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pingora Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 3,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $969,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Topsail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $590,000. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 98,594 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $28,582,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 46,437 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $13,462,000 after purchasing an additional 6,741 shares during the period. Finally, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. grew its stake in McDonald’s by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 82,691 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $24,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.7 %

MCD opened at $316.13 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $307.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $299.70. The company has a market cap of $225.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. On average, research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 3,200 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total value of $962,432.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 9,858 shares in the company, valued at $2,964,892.08. This trade represents a 24.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 28,136 shares of company stock valued at $8,676,247. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.74.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.