Vega Investment Solutions Invests $770,000 in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Vega Investment Solutions bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,657 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $770,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in McDonald’s by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $20,341,391,000 after buying an additional 526,466 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,074,438 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,652,768,000 after purchasing an additional 157,458 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in McDonald’s by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,652,445 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,088,037,000 after purchasing an additional 531,070 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth about $2,725,190,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in McDonald’s by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,570,511,000 after purchasing an additional 895,896 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $286,395.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,263,290. This represents a 6.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. The trade was a 15.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 13,337 shares of company stock worth $4,123,534. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $314.28 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $311.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $301.32. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $326.32. The company has a market cap of $224.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.59, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. The company had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.70 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on MCD shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Barclays upped their target price on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on McDonald’s from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on McDonald’s from $353.00 to $364.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $325.91.

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.