McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by Townsend & Associates Inc

Townsend & Associates Inc decreased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,583 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 49 shares during the period. Townsend & Associates Inc’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,013,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position 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 valued at $244,174,000 after purchasing an additional 677,139 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $121,254,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 3,580.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 268,650 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $81,807,000 after purchasing an additional 261,350 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 26,948.9% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,752 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $66,023,000 after purchasing an additional 226,910 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $64,805,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:MCD opened at $304.76 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90. The firm has a market cap of $218.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50 day moving average is $292.61 and its 200-day moving average is $293.92.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. Research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.60, for a total value of $334,755.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $475,176. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,205 shares of company stock valued at $6,703,569. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MCD shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

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.