Novem Group Acquires Shares of 2,804 McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Novem Group bought a new position in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,804 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $813,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc raised its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc now owns 7,486 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $2,170,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Pettee Investors Inc. raised its stake in McDonald's by 0.7% in the 4th 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 lifted its position in McDonald's by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 899 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Independent Wealth Network Inc. grew its stake in McDonald's by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 736 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Barn Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 871 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MCD. Northcoast Research downgraded McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Truist Financial set a $350.00 target price on shares of McDonald's in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of McDonald's from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised McDonald's from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $325.91.

Insider Activity at McDonald's

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,099 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.60, for a total transaction of $334,755.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $475,176. The trade was a 41.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $286,395.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,978 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,263,290. This represents a 6.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,436 shares of company stock valued at $4,458,290. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald's Stock Down 1.0%

MCD stock opened at $316.61 on Thursday. McDonald's Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $311.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $301.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57.

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

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. McDonald's's 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.

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