Sierra Ocean LLC Acquires New Shares in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 300 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $87,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Baird R W cut McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Guggenheim lowered shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total value of $321,457.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,716,155. This represents a 10.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 value of $3,255,525.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,906 shares of company stock valued at $5,406,382. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:MCD opened at $308.59 on Monday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90. The business’s 50-day moving average is $291.98 and its 200 day moving average is $292.71. The company has a market capitalization of $221.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. On average, research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 62.16%.

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.