Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC Purchases Shares of 1,898 McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,898 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $550,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc boosted its stake in shares of McDonald's by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc now owns 7,486 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $2,170,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Pettee Investors Inc. boosted its position in McDonald's by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Pettee Investors Inc. now owns 5,401 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,566,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in McDonald's by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 899 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald's by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 871 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diligent Investors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 4,746 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,376,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays boosted their target price on McDonald's from $347.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Erste Group Bank lowered McDonald's from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. BTIG Research restated a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on McDonald's from $353.00 to $364.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Northcoast Research lowered McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald's presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $325.91.

Insider Activity at McDonald's

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.07, for a total transaction of $295,850.73. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,161 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,516,496.27. This trade represents a 7.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:MCD traded up $2.17 on Friday, hitting $314.03. 1,353,300 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,496,972. The company has a market cap of $224.54 billion, a PE ratio of 27.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57. McDonald's Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $312.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $301.89.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.70 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is 62.49%.

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.