Perennial Advisors LLC Makes New $7.74 Million Investment in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Perennial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 26,714 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $7,744,000. McDonald's makes up approximately 1.7% of Perennial Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of McDonald's by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $20,341,391,000 after buying an additional 526,466 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald's by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,074,438 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $4,652,768,000 after buying an additional 157,458 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of McDonald's by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,652,445 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $3,088,037,000 after buying an additional 531,070 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,725,190,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of McDonald's by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $2,570,511,000 after buying an additional 895,896 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Stock Down 0.7%

MCD stock traded down $2.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $312.86. The company had a trading volume of 1,933,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,531,653. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57. McDonald's Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $326.32. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $311.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $301.75.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share 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 business 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 business earned $2.70 earnings per share. The company'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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid 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 currently 62.49%.

Insider Activity at McDonald's

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MCD shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of McDonald's from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of McDonald's from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of McDonald's from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $353.00 to $364.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $345.00 price objective (up previously from $340.00) on shares of McDonald's in a report on Monday, May 5th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald's presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.