Natixis Advisors L.P. Buys 57,917 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 13.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 497,407 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 57,917 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. owned 0.07% of McDonald’s worth $147,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 592,760 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $175,760,000 after acquiring an additional 9,587 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 56,797 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $16,841,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 4,749 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,408,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Mechanics Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 5,331 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,581,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in McDonald’s by 31.5% in the fourth quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 10,430 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,086,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’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 value of $312,533.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $291.00 to $341.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, March 25th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $343.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $316.63.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD traded down $0.08 on Thursday, reaching $274.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,571,571 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,310,916. The business’s 50 day moving average is $280.53 and its 200 day moving average is $282.27. 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 $197.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 180.54% and a net margin of 33.36%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.63 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.71%.

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.