Fiduciary Group LLC Trims Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Fiduciary Group LLC cut its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,554 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 61 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,187 shares in the company, valued at $2,383,235.70. The trade was a 11.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.39.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $306.83 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $297.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $297.19. The company has a market capitalization of $219.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

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

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.