McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC

Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,248 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 8.2% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 35,395 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $10,778,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in McDonald’s by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 68,411 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $19,252,000 after buying an additional 9,644 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 32.1% during the 3rd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $861,000 after buying an additional 686 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,553 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $777,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 27.8% in the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,268 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $7,999,000 after acquiring an additional 5,717 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.6 %

MCD opened at $304.76 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $218.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $292.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $294.10. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.60, for a total value of $334,755.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $475,176. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,106 shares of company stock valued at $6,382,112. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

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.