Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Purchases New Position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 170,000 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $49,281,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of McDonald's by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $20,341,391,000 after purchasing an additional 526,466 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of McDonald's by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,074,438 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $4,652,768,000 after purchasing an additional 157,458 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of McDonald's by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,652,445 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $3,088,037,000 after purchasing an additional 531,070 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of McDonald's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,725,190,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of McDonald's by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $2,570,511,000 after purchasing an additional 895,896 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE MCD traded down $1.02 on Thursday, hitting $311.82. 2,246,656 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,526,540. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $312.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $301.82. The company has a market cap of $222.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57. McDonald's Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $326.32.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.17 billion. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.70 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald's news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the company'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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,853,850. This represents a 7.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MCD. TD Securities reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of McDonald's from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of McDonald's from $347.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price 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. Finally, Northcoast Research lowered shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $325.91.

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.