Indie Asset Partners LLC Trims Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Indie Asset Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,627 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 246 shares during the period. McDonald’s accounts for about 0.6% of Indie Asset Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Indie Asset Partners LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 542.9% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $244,174,000 after buying an additional 677,139 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $121,254,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 3,580.1% in the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 268,650 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $81,807,000 after acquiring an additional 261,350 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 26,948.9% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,752 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $66,023,000 after acquiring an additional 226,910 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $64,805,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value of $989,121.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,205 shares of company stock worth $6,703,569 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $304.76 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $292.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $293.76. The stock has a market cap of $218.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.90.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. 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. Bank of America increased their price target on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.61.

McDonald’s 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.