Gradient Investments LLC Has $1.56 Million Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Gradient Investments LLC decreased its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD – Get Rating) by 90.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,921 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 54,442 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. West Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 520.0% during the 3rd quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC now owns 124 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. WD Rutherford LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Cowa LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,396 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.44, for a total transaction of $370,554.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,755.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 3,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.69, for a total transaction of $1,030,606.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 34,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,271,978.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,396 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.44, for a total transaction of $370,554.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 308 shares in the company, valued at $81,755.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,122 shares of company stock valued at $2,177,681 over the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MCD. Truist Financial dropped their price target on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $292.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 18th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $283.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $250.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $295.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.80.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $267.20 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $228.34 and a 52-week high of $281.67. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $267.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $262.86. The firm has a market cap of $195.46 billion, a PE ratio of 32.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.62.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 31st. The fast-food giant reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.13. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 120.10% and a net margin of 26.65%. The firm had revenue of $5.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 10.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.52 per share. This represents a $6.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 28th. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 72.81%.

About McDonald’s

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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.