Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. Decreases Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. trimmed its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,200 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 312 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,833,510,000 after purchasing an additional 220,365 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,082,894 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,592,892,000 after acquiring an additional 128,800 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position 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. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,765,049 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $841,966,000 after acquiring an additional 19,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 31,151.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $706,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,311,721 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:MCD opened at $308.59 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $291.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $292.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90. The company has a market cap of $221.14 billion, a PE ratio of 27.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup increased their target price on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp increased their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total value of $84,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,906 shares of company stock worth $5,406,382 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About McDonald’s

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.