Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 22.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 80,365 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after purchasing an additional 14,842 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $23,297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in McDonald's by 110.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock traded up $1.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $317.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 801,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,562,528. McDonald's Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $326.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $309.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $300.00. The stock has a market cap of $227.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.90, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. The company had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.70 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald's news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.50, for a total value of $299,071.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,100 shares in the company, valued at $3,853,850. The trade was a 7.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 3,200 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total value of $962,432.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 9,858 shares in the company, valued at $2,964,892.08. This trade represents a 24.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 28,136 shares of company stock valued at $8,676,247. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp raised their price objective on McDonald's from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of McDonald's from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. BTIG Research reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial set a $350.00 price objective on McDonald's in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on McDonald's from $347.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $325.91.

About McDonald's

McDonald's Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.