Pitcairn Co. Sells 144 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Pitcairn Co. reduced its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,407 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 144 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,725,190,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth $703,074,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,054,387 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,175,326,000 after purchasing an additional 794,536 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 43,591.6% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 590,711 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $171,241,000 after buying an additional 589,359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $20,341,391,000 after buying an additional 526,466 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MCD. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Erste Group Bank raised McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

Insider Transactions 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 shares were 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 owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 10,459 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.71, for a total transaction of $3,228,797.89. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,918.26. This trade represents a 69.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,497 shares of company stock valued at $8,461,400. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $311.69 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $222.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $303.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $298.56. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted 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 negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. As a group, research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.16%.

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.