Steele Capital Management Inc. Takes Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Steele Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,471 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $733,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Independent Wealth Network Inc. increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 863 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 1,374 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Unique Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 3,249 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $963,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Patron Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 5,158 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wagner Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 906 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were 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 owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were 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 owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.2 %

McDonald’s stock traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $273.57. The company had a trading volume of 3,184,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,269,845. The company has a 50 day moving average of $281.68 and a 200-day moving average of $281.96. The firm has a market cap of $197.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.64, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $245.73 and a 52 week high of $302.39.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MCD. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $318.41.

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.