Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Increases Position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 17.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 903,522 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after buying an additional 132,224 shares during the quarter. McDonald's comprises about 1.0% of Alyeska Investment Group L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned 0.13% of McDonald's worth $261,922,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,725,190,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the 4th quarter valued at about $703,074,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake 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 valued at $2,570,511,000 after purchasing an additional 895,896 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,054,387 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,175,326,000 after purchasing an additional 794,536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. raised its holdings in McDonald's by 1,547.1% during the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 641,950 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $179,715,000 after buying an additional 602,976 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McDonald's Stock Up 0.5 %

MCD traded up $1.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $318.52. The company had a trading volume of 880,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,562,842. The business has a 50-day moving average of $309.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $300.00. McDonald's Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32. The company has a market cap of $227.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57.

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 for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $6.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.70 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that McDonald's Co. 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 Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald's's payout ratio is currently 62.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald's news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total transaction of $962,432.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 9,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,964,892.08. The trade was a 24.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,136 shares of company stock worth $8,676,247 in the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on MCD. Piper Sandler raised their target price on McDonald's from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on McDonald's from $347.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp raised their price objective on McDonald's from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Erste Group Bank raised McDonald's from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.