First Horizon Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,797 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $16,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $644,739,000 after buying an additional 2,154,297 shares in the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at $192,165,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 174.7% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 947,653 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $249,693,000 after purchasing an additional 602,707 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in McDonald’s by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,997,877 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $789,762,000 after purchasing an additional 429,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Winslow Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 39.6% during the 3rd quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,306,329 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $344,139,000 after purchasing an additional 370,699 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the transaction, 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 company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MCD. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. BTIG Research cut shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, March 25th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $316.63.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCD traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $274.31. 1,453,617 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,309,256. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $245.73 and a 1-year high of $302.39. The stock has a market cap of $197.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $280.53 and its 200-day moving average is $282.27.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 180.54% and a net margin of 33.36%. The company’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 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 56.71%.

McDonald’s Company 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.