Sandhill Capital Partners LLC Buys 94 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Sandhill Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,054 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 94 shares during the quarter. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $4,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Boltwood Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 1,882 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Pettee Investors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Pettee Investors Inc. now owns 5,401 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,566,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 9,396 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,724,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 736 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $213,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Barn Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 871 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $299.32 on Tuesday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $326.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.28, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $304.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $298.84.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Erste Group Bank upgraded McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $360.00 to $353.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $322.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the 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 directly owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,214,275.25. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.60, for a total value of $334,755.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $475,176. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,497 shares of company stock valued at $8,461,400. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.