McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC decreased its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 13,333 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 670 shares during the quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in McDonald’s by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $20,341,391,000 after purchasing an additional 526,466 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,833,510,000 after purchasing an additional 220,365 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,082,894 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,592,892,000 after purchasing an additional 128,800 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,803,833 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,682,473,000 after purchasing an additional 52,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,694,202 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,650,692,000 after acquiring an additional 129,843 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $305.07 on Monday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $326.32. The company has a market capitalization of $217.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $298.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $297.53.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total value of $436,134.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,882. This trade represents a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total transaction of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. This trade represents a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 32,405 shares of company stock worth $9,886,656. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.39.

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.