Norges Bank Invests $2.73 Billion in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,400,772 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $2,725,190,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.31% of McDonald’s at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 110.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MCD. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.39.

McDonald’s Trading Up 2.1 %

MCD opened at $313.39 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $223.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.51, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $300.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $297.89. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share 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, research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,720,778.28. This trade represents a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,405 shares of company stock valued at $9,886,656 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Company 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.