Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Decreases Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 326,926 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 6,344 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s comprises about 1.0% of Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $94,773,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 31,151.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $706,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,311,721 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 542.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $244,174,000 after buying an additional 677,139 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $121,254,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 3,580.1% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 268,650 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $81,807,000 after acquiring an additional 261,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 26,948.9% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,752 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $66,023,000 after acquiring an additional 226,910 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $334.00 to $336.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $336.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $318.86.

McDonald’s Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of MCD stock opened at $294.37 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $210.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $290.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $290.37. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total transaction of $436,134.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $453,882. This trade represents a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,406 shares of company stock worth $2,150,857 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.