Aspire Growth Partners LLC Buys New Shares in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Aspire Growth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,159 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $337,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,675 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,033,000 after acquiring an additional 752 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $215,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in McDonald’s by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,093 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,937 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,591,000 after purchasing an additional 636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NRI Wealth Management LC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,868,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on MCD shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $353.00 to $364.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $325.26.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $311.78 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $309.16 and its 200 day moving average is $300.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.95 billion, a PE ratio of 27.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $286,395.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,978 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,263,290. The trade was a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 28,136 shares of company stock worth $8,676,247. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s 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.