Rakuten Securities Inc. Takes Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 335 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $99,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 106,340.3% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,235,890 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $5,069,234,000 after buying an additional 19,217,818 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,341,360,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in McDonald’s by 10,702.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,174,426 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $644,739,000 after purchasing an additional 2,154,297 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in McDonald’s by 1,189.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,191,692 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $541,962,000 after purchasing an additional 2,021,754 shares during the period. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC raised its stake in McDonald’s by 31,574.5% during the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 1,628,069 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $162,807,000 after purchasing an additional 1,622,929 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $291.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Barclays reduced their price objective on McDonald’s from $343.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.72.

McDonald’s Stock Up 1.7 %

MCD opened at $269.95 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $283.86 and a 200 day moving average of $280.69. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $245.73 and a 52-week high of $302.39. The stock has a market cap of $194.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.33, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.71.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 57.74%.

About McDonald’s

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.