Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Decreases Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. cut its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,770 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 2,136 shares during the quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $5,731,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim cut shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $308.59 on Monday. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $291.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $292.90. The firm has a market cap of $221.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid 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 dividend yield of 2.29%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total transaction of $319,918.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,383,235.70. The trade was a 11.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total value of $436,134.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 17,906 shares of company stock worth $5,406,382 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Company 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.