Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 679 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,295 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 679 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in McDonald’s were worth $14,290,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,394,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $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 buying an additional 49,106 shares during the period. 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 buying an additional 2,997 shares during the period. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,471,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total transaction of $962,432.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at $2,214,275.25. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,106 shares of company stock worth $6,368,814 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $302.89 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90. The firm has a market cap of $217.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $292.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $293.51.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 62.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

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.