GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. Invests $667,000 in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,300 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $667,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,725,190,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth $703,074,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in McDonald's by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,054,387 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,175,326,000 after buying an additional 794,536 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. increased its stake in McDonald's by 1,547.1% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 641,950 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $179,715,000 after acquiring an additional 602,976 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 43,591.6% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 590,711 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $171,241,000 after acquiring an additional 589,359 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald's

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total value of $84,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at $2,214,275.25. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,497 shares of company stock worth $8,461,400. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald's Price Performance

MCD stock traded up $1.72 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $310.82. The stock had a trading volume of 2,726,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,584,906. The business has a 50-day moving average of $307.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $299.35. The firm has a market cap of $222.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. McDonald's Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $326.32.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. Research analysts predict that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald's's payout ratio is 62.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of McDonald's from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. Truist Financial cut their price objective on McDonald's from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on McDonald's from $360.00 to $353.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $322.87.

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.