California Public Employees Retirement System Trims Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,961,775 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 206,003 shares during the period. McDonald’s makes up 0.6% of California Public Employees Retirement System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.41% of McDonald’s worth $858,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in McDonald’s by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $20,341,391,000 after buying an additional 526,466 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,833,510,000 after acquiring an additional 220,365 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,082,894 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,592,892,000 after acquiring an additional 128,800 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth about $2,725,190,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,803,833 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,682,473,000 after purchasing an additional 52,195 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Price Performance

McDonald’s stock opened at $306.95 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $301.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $298.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released 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 net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. As a group, analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at $1,720,778.28. This trade represents a 15.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,405 shares of company stock valued at $9,886,656. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. 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, February 11th. Truist Financial cut their price target 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, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.