Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 836,590 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 6,536 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $242,519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter worth $44,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on MCD shares. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE MCD opened at $308.59 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.14 billion, a PE ratio of 27.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $291.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $292.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders 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 2.29%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insider Activity

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total value of $84,225.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,906 shares of company stock valued at $5,406,382 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.