Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. Buys Shares of 856 McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 856 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 51.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth $50,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCD traded down $0.57 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $272.98. The stock had a trading volume of 5,351,661 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,289,925. The business’s 50 day moving average is $281.31 and its 200 day moving average is $282.15. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $245.73 and a fifty-two week high of $302.39. The stock has a market cap of $196.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.65, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 171.96% and a net margin of 33.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MCD. Wedbush dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 5th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $317.67.

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.