Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 4,087 Shares of McDonald's Corporation $MCD

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its McDonald's stake by 11.1% in Q4, buying 4,087 shares to hold 40,915 shares valued at roughly $12.505 million.
• Company insiders have been net sellers — insiders sold 71,657 shares worth $23.72 million in the past three months (including Joseph Erlinger and CMO Edith Morgan Flatley), and insiders now own about 0.25% of the stock.
• Analysts show a consensus "Hold" on MCD with an average price target of $339.69; McDonald's trades with a market cap of ~$221.6B, a PE of 26.09, and an annualized dividend of $7.44 (yield ~2.4%).

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,915 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after buying an additional 4,087 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $12,505,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. WD Rutherford LLC boosted its stake in McDonald's by 1.0% in the third quarter. WD Rutherford LLC now owns 3,261 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $991,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in McDonald's by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,102 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $642,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in McDonald's by 1.4% in the third quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,423 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $736,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC boosted its stake in McDonald's by 2.0% in the third quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 1,771 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in McDonald's by 0.3% in the third quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,032 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $3,352,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 2,626 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total transaction of $806,182.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,578,800. This represents a 23.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 4,692 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.00, for a total value of $1,553,052.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 6,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,052,200. This trade represents a 43.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 71,657 shares of company stock worth $23,723,307. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial upped their target price on McDonald's from $356.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on McDonald's from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Guggenheim cut their target price on McDonald's from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on McDonald's from $323.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $339.69.

McDonald's Stock Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $311.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $221.63 billion, a PE ratio of 26.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.53. McDonald's Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $283.47 and a fifty-two week high of $341.75. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $319.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $311.77.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.81 billion. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 343.90% and a net margin of 31.85%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.83 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is 62.26%.

About McDonald's

McDonald's Corporation NYSE: MCD is a global quick-service restaurant company best known for its hamburgers, French fries and breakfast offerings. The company develops, operates and franchises a system of restaurants that sell a range of food and beverage items, including signature products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, McCafé coffee beverages and a variety of salads, desserts and seasonal menu items. McDonald's serves customers through company-operated restaurants and franchised locations, and it supports sales via dine-in, drive-thru, digital ordering platforms and third-party delivery partnerships.

Founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald as a single San Bernardino, California restaurant, the business was transformed into a franchising model after Ray Kroc joined in the mid-1950s and led the brand's national and international expansion.

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