Hexagon Capital Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,951 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $578,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fiducient Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. Fiducient Advisors LLC now owns 2,355 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 1,823 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 38,387 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $11,382,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the period. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 83,051 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $24,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,024 shares during the period. Finally, MONECO Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 3,917 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,161,000 after purchasing an additional 927 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $273.07. 6,893,865 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,313,933. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.89 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $245.73 and a one year high of $302.39. The company’s 50 day moving average is $280.92 and its 200 day moving average is $282.33.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.22% and a negative return on equity of 171.96%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,140,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on MCD. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $291.00 to $341.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wedbush cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $317.67.

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.