McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Stake Lowered by Intermede Investment Partners Ltd

Intermede Investment Partners Ltd cut its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 32.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 338,176 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 165,685 shares during the period. McDonald’s accounts for approximately 2.6% of Intermede Investment Partners Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Intermede Investment Partners Ltd’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $98,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth $703,074,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in McDonald’s by 542.9% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $244,174,000 after purchasing an additional 677,139 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 43,591.6% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 590,711 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $171,241,000 after purchasing an additional 589,359 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $121,254,000. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 518.1% during the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 348,119 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $100,916,000 after buying an additional 291,802 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $299.40 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $213.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $296.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $296.70. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.