South Street Advisors LLC Sells 1,034 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

South Street Advisors LLC reduced its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 22.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,618 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,034 shares during the period. South Street Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mystic Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 218.7% in the fourth quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,307,000 after purchasing an additional 10,196 shares during the period. Leelyn Smith LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 20,403 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $5,915,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,773,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,646 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $7,724,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $161,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Trading Up 1.4 %

McDonald’s stock opened at $304.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $297.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $297.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.20 billion, a PE ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.39.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total transaction of $436,134.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $453,882. This trade represents a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $84,225.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575 in the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.