McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by Pictet North America Advisors SA

Pictet North America Advisors SA reduced its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,659 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 4,462 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s comprises approximately 1.2% of Pictet North America Advisors SA’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Pictet North America Advisors SA’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $12,656,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth $1,394,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth $1,628,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,694,403,000 after acquiring an additional 49,106 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 6.5% in the third quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,186 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $14,978,000 after acquiring an additional 2,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,471,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,383,235.70. The trade was a 11.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,906 shares of company stock valued at $5,406,382 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Baird R W downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $309.99 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $291.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $292.08. The firm has a market cap of $222.15 billion, a PE ratio of 27.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

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

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.