Legal & General Group Plc Trims Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 26.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,349,092 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,548,645 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,260,758,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. United Bank increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc increased its stake in McDonald’s by 12.8% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 3,385 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,031,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2,350.5% in the 3rd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,200 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $8,283,000 after acquiring an additional 26,090 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter worth about $1,326,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 44,433 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $13,530,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Down 5.8 %

Shares of MCD stock opened at $299.68 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $304.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $298.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $214.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. Equities research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $1.77 dividend. 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 2.36%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, 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 sold a total of 27,497 shares of company stock valued at $8,461,400 in the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. KeyCorp boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine 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, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.30.

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.