Trek Financial LLC Trims Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Trek Financial LLC decreased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,215 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 91 shares during the quarter. Trek Financial LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MCD. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 110.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total value of $84,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,497 shares of company stock valued at $8,461,400 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MCD. Wedbush upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on McDonald’s from $360.00 to $353.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays increased 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.87.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $299.32 on Tuesday. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $304.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $298.84. The firm has a market cap of $213.85 billion, a PE ratio of 26.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. On average, equities analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.16%.

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.