Zhang Financial LLC Acquires 78 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Zhang Financial LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,947 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $874,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 103.4% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 413 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $17,266,000 after purchasing an additional 5,007 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 516,408 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $127,697,000 after purchasing an additional 23,643 shares during the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new position in McDonald’s during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,108,000. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 59.7% during the 1st quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 9,338 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 3,490 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:MCD opened at $271.99 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $245.73 and a 52 week high of $302.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $283.10 and a 200 day moving average of $280.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.51, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.33 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 57.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 at the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 5th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $291.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.72.

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.