Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Has $57.79 Million Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 384.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 194,888 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 154,642 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s comprises 1.2% of Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $57,786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,449,565 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $18,032,353,000 after purchasing an additional 262,147 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,200,473 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,423,773,000 after purchasing an additional 151,161 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,390,035 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,401,570,000 after purchasing an additional 237,532 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,593,760 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,209,171,000 after purchasing an additional 199,657 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,911,764 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,159,877,000 after acquiring an additional 26,147 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. KeyCorp dropped their price target on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. BTIG Research cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on McDonald’s from $291.00 to $341.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $317.74.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.4 %

McDonald’s stock traded down $1.15 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $273.28. The stock had a trading volume of 3,084,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,329,244. The stock has a market cap of $197.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $245.73 and a one year high of $302.39. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $280.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $282.27.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.36% and a negative return on equity of 180.54%. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.63 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given 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 dividend yield of 2.44%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.71%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, 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.

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.