Financial Counselors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Financial Counselors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 209,711 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 6,445 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s comprises approximately 0.9% of Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $60,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $447,000. Summitry LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 18,604 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $5,393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,476 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at $118,000. Florida Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 492 shares during the period. Finally, Aire Advisors LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 3,722 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,079,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.4 %

McDonald’s stock opened at $307.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $299.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $297.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-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 (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%. Research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MCD. Truist Financial dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $286,395.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,263,290. The trade was a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,720,778.28. The trade was a 15.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,405 shares of company stock worth $9,886,656 in the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.