McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 579,601 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 28,390 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $168,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $309.99 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $222.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $291.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $292.08. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90.

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

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the business’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 owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total transaction of $321,457.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,155. This represents a 10.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,906 shares of company stock valued at $5,406,382. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MCD. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays increased their target price on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.