Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC Makes New Investment in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 828 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in McDonald's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,725,190,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $703,074,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $350,935,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in McDonald's by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $2,570,511,000 after purchasing an additional 895,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in McDonald's by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,054,387 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,175,326,000 after purchasing an additional 794,536 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Price Performance

MCD traded up $1.82 during trading on Friday, reaching $313.68. 4,056,929 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,515,946. The stock has a market cap of $224.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57. McDonald's Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $312.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $302.03.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. The firm had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.70 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share 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. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 62.49%.

Insider Activity

In other McDonald's news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.07, for a total value of $295,850.73. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,161 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,516,496.27. The trade was a 7.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on McDonald's from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial set a $350.00 target price on McDonald's in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on McDonald's from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald's has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $325.91.

McDonald's 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.