Quadrant Capital Group LLC Decreases Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Quadrant Capital Group LLC lowered its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,744 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 108 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,825,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MCD. United Bank raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 3.5% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 6,446 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,963,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 3,385 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 216,186 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $65,831,000 after purchasing an additional 13,811 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2,350.5% during the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,200 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $8,283,000 after buying an additional 26,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldstream Capital Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,655,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Down 5.8 %

NYSE MCD opened at $299.68 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $214.11 billion, a PE ratio of 26.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $304.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $298.75. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup lowered their price target on McDonald’s from $360.00 to $353.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.30.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,497 shares of company stock valued at $8,461,400. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

About McDonald’s

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.