Cannell & Spears LLC Sells 248 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Cannell & Spears LLC lowered its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,472 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 248 shares during the quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Mattern Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 30,110 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $8,729,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the period. Bell Bank grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Bell Bank now owns 12,699 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,681,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth about $1,628,000. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,512 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,888,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,471,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total value of $436,134.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,882. The trade was a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,996 shares of company stock valued at $8,897,534 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE MCD opened at $312.74 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $302.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $298.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.46, a P/E/G 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 announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush increased their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.61.

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.