Freedom Day Solutions LLC Trims Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Freedom Day Solutions LLC lowered its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,686 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 65 shares during the quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,648,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $301.71 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $292.32 and a 200-day moving average of $293.44. The company has a market capitalization of $216.21 billion, a PE ratio of 26.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 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 announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. On average, equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total value of $84,225.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total transaction of $962,432.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 9,858 shares in the company, valued at $2,964,892.08. This represents a 24.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,106 shares of company stock valued at $6,368,814 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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, Spain, and the U.K.