McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Holdings Decreased by Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. reduced its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,759 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 164 shares during the period. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $5,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 16,402 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,755,000 after purchasing an additional 682 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in McDonald’s by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 73,275 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $21,241,000 after buying an additional 1,391 shares in the last quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 1,639 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,667 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,643,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in McDonald’s by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 194,797 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $56,470,000 after purchasing an additional 80,467 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD opened at $307.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $219.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $298.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $297.26. 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 earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. On average, equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MCD. Erste Group Bank raised McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.39.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total value of $84,225.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575 in the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s 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.