Optimum Investment Advisors Decreases Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Optimum Investment Advisors lowered its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,753 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors’ holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MCD. United Bank increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 3.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 233.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,552 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $473,000 after buying an additional 1,087 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in McDonald’s by 8.4% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 72,369 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $22,037,000 after buying an additional 5,638 shares in the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 6.0% in the third quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,081 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $634,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at $2,277,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $305.07 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $326.32. The stock has a market cap of $217.96 billion, a PE ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $298.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $297.46.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released 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 negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. On average, research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now owns 8,187 shares in the company, valued at $2,383,235.70. This trade represents a 11.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. The trade was a 15.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.