Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp Sells 100 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp reduced its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,537 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,315,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter worth $25,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:MCD opened at $307.58 on Thursday. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $317.90. The company has a market cap of $219.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $294.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $295.91.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly 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 negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. As a group, equities research 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 paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 10,459 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.71, for a total value of $3,228,797.89. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,606 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,918.26. This trade represents a 69.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MCD. 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 report on Tuesday, February 4th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

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.