McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Stock Holdings Lowered by First Merchants Corp

First Merchants Corp trimmed its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,815 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 147 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $6,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at $1,885,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 71.6% during the 4th quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 321,503 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $93,201,000 after buying an additional 134,123 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $229,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in McDonald’s by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 56,001 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $16,234,000 after buying an additional 8,714 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 3,701 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of MCD opened at $309.99 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $291.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $292.08. The stock has a market cap of $222.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. Equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on MCD shares. Baird R W downgraded McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their price target on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total value of $321,457.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,716,155. This trade represents a 10.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,906 shares of company stock worth $5,406,382 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.