Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. Has $1.98 Million Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,685 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. McDonald’s accounts for 1.7% of Valley Brook Capital Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,982,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MCD. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 10,702.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,174,426 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $644,739,000 after buying an additional 2,154,297 shares in the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $192,165,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in McDonald’s by 174.7% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 947,653 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $249,693,000 after acquiring an additional 602,707 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,997,877 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $789,762,000 after purchasing an additional 429,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Winslow Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 39.6% during the 3rd quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,306,329 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $344,139,000 after purchasing an additional 370,699 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup cut their target price on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $317.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $5,140,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD traded down $2.96 during trading on Friday, hitting $270.32. 2,642,344 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,812,742. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $279.53 and a 200 day moving average of $282.76. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $245.73 and a 52-week high of $302.39. The company has a market cap of $194.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.36% and a negative return on equity of 180.54%. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.63 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 56.71%.

McDonald’s Profile

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.