McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Stake Boosted by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 16.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,140 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,425 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $5,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 51.9% during the third quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD traded down $2.51 on Friday, reaching $273.09. 3,636,458 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,338,426. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $245.73 and a fifty-two week high of $302.39. The company’s 50 day moving average is $281.68 and its 200-day moving average is $281.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.90 billion, a PE ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.59 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 transaction of $312,533.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,696,517.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCD has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Barclays reduced their price objective on McDonald’s from $343.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $318.41.

McDonald’s 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.