Blue Chip Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Blue Chip Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,691 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 275 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s comprises about 2.5% of Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $24,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Marco Investment Management LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 12,967 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,845,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its position in McDonald’s by 68.6% in the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,958 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $581,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 8,739 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,591,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 4,591 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,361,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Convergence Investment Partners LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 192.8% in the 4th quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,622 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 2,385 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MCD. Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 5th. BTIG Research cut shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $318.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at $4,696,517.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCD traded down $2.51 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $273.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,636,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,338,426. The stock has a market cap of $196.90 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $245.73 and a fifty-two week high of $302.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $281.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $281.96.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.22% and a negative return on equity of 171.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. Equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.74%.

About McDonald’s

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.