Rafferty Asset Management LLC Buys 7,709 Shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 65,785 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after purchasing an additional 7,709 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $19,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in McDonald's by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,546 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,318,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in McDonald's by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,005 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in McDonald's by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 20,732 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $6,010,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045 shares during the period. Roble Belko & Company Inc acquired a new position in McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth $87,000. Finally, Websterrogers Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at $326,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Stock Performance

MCD traded down $4.25 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $315.55. 1,014,297 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,543,464. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $310.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $301.07. McDonald's Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $326.32. The stock has a market cap of $225.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.17 billion. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.70 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $286,395.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,978 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,263,290. This represents a 6.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,099 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.60, for a total value of $334,755.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $475,176. The trade was a 41.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,436 shares of company stock worth $4,458,290 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MCD. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of McDonald's from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on McDonald's from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on McDonald's from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Northcoast Research lowered shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on McDonald's from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Eleven 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, the stock 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.