Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 4,176 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $1,211,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in McDonald's during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in McDonald's in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in McDonald's in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald's by 110.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Stock Performance

Shares of McDonald's stock traded down $2.09 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $312.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,933,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,534,799. McDonald's Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $326.32. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $311.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $301.75. The stock has a market cap of $223.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $6.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.70 earnings per share. McDonald's's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. McDonald's's payout ratio is 62.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MCD shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $345.00 target price (up previously from $340.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Monday, May 5th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Monday, February 10th. KeyCorp upped their target price on McDonald's from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Northcoast Research downgraded McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $325.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald's news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.50, for a total value of $299,071.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,853,850. This trade represents a 7.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at $1,720,778.28. The trade was a 15.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,878 shares of company stock valued at $904,192. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Company Profile

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.