Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Lowers Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. lessened its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,691 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 74 shares during the quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $385,000. Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $520,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth about $4,825,000. Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 13,415 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,889,000 after buying an additional 683 shares during the period. Finally, First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 81.9% in the fourth quarter. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 34,457 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $9,989,000 after buying an additional 15,518 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’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 directly owns 9,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,716,155. The trade was a 10.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total transaction of $436,134.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $453,882. The trade was a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,406 shares of company stock worth $2,150,857. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Up 4.7 %

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $308.22 on Tuesday. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $317.90. The firm has a market cap of $220.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.06, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50 day moving average of $290.70 and a 200 day moving average of $291.16.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. As a group, equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday. Guggenheim cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised their target price on McDonald’s from $334.00 to $336.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.13.

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, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.