Ballast Inc. Boosts Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Ballast Inc. boosted its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,381 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 103.4% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 413 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $17,266,000 after purchasing an additional 5,007 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 516,408 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $127,697,000 after purchasing an additional 23,643 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 1st quarter worth $1,108,000. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 59.7% during the 1st quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 9,338 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 3,490 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $281.95 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $290.64 and a 200-day moving average of $280.93. The company has a market capitalization of $203.58 billion, a PE ratio of 24.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.72. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $245.73 and a 1-year high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 171.96% and a net margin of 33.22%. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MCD. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial reduced their price target on McDonald’s from $345.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.60.

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.