Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Sells 924 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC reduced its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 22.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,119 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 924 shares during the quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $904,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. United Bank boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 6,446 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,963,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $687,000. Atom Investors LP purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $938,000. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,678 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,729,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,293 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $313.57 on Wednesday. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $302.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $298.47. The firm has a market cap of $224.03 billion, a PE ratio of 27.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 3,200 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total transaction of $962,432.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 9,858 shares in the company, valued at $2,964,892.08. The trade was a 24.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,996 shares of company stock worth $8,897,534. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MCD shares. Bank of America upped their price target 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. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Erste Group Bank upgraded McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

About McDonald’s

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.