McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by Townsend & Associates Inc

Townsend & Associates Inc lowered its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,583 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 49 shares during the period. Townsend & Associates Inc’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,013,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. TCW Group Inc. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 12,960 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,757,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. ST. Nicholas Private Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth $4,868,000. Fisher Funds Management LTD acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth $1,882,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 128,350 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $37,208,000 after acquiring an additional 3,271 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $304.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $317.90. The company’s fifty day moving average is $292.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $293.92.

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, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. Sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 22,205 shares of company stock valued at $6,703,569. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MCD. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.61.

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.