IMS Capital Management Reduces Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

IMS Capital Management lessened its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,751 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. IMS Capital Management’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,394,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,628,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,694,403,000 after acquiring an additional 49,106 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,186 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $14,978,000 after acquiring an additional 2,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth $2,471,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE MCD opened at $309.99 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $291.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $292.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,286 shares in the company, valued at $2,716,155. This trade represents a 10.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,906 shares of company stock worth $5,406,382 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Guggenheim downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.