Blue Chip Partners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Blue Chip Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,691 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. McDonald’s comprises approximately 2.5% of Blue Chip Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $24,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KG&L Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 24.0% during the third quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 11.5% during the third quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 1,843 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.4% during the third quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 6,590 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,736,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 22.7% during the third quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 4,888 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,288,000 after acquiring an additional 904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.7% during the third quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 9,407 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,478,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MCD. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $318.41.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction 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. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock traded down $2.51 on Friday, hitting $273.09. 3,636,458 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,338,426. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $281.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $281.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.90 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $245.73 and a 1 year high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.12. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.22% and a negative return on equity of 171.96%. The business had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.59 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.74%.

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.