Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 904 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 317,356 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 904 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $91,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MCD. United Bank grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 3.5% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 6,446 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,963,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 28.1% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 54,070 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $16,465,000 after purchasing an additional 11,867 shares during the last quarter. Essex Savings Bank boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 7,281 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,217,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc increased its position in McDonald’s by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 67,153 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $20,449,000 after buying an additional 1,749 shares during the period. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 6.1% during the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 22,435 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $6,832,000 after buying an additional 1,299 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $321.52 on Monday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $323.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.23, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $295.69 and a 200-day moving average of $296.37.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MCD. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. 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 research report on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total transaction of $319,918.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,383,235.70. This trade represents a 11.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at $1,720,778.28. This trade represents a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575 in the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.