NS Partners Ltd Raises Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

NS Partners Ltd grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 127,486 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,251 shares during the period. McDonald’s makes up about 1.5% of NS Partners Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. NS Partners Ltd’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $36,957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at $5,595,000. Banco Santander S.A. raised its stake in McDonald’s by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 35,824 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $10,385,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 125,793 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $40,034,000 after acquiring an additional 1,099 shares during the last quarter. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in McDonald’s by 244.0% in the 4th quarter. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,095 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $897,000 after acquiring an additional 5,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth $649,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Up 3.6 %

NYSE:MCD opened at $321.52 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $295.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $296.25. The company has a market cap of $229.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $323.17.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. On average, analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total transaction of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. The trade was a 15.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wedbush raised their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

About McDonald’s

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.