First Foundation Advisors Reduces Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

First Foundation Advisors lessened its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,760 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 141 shares during the period. First Foundation Advisors’ holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $20,341,391,000 after acquiring an additional 526,466 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,074,438 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,652,768,000 after purchasing an additional 157,458 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,725,190,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% in 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 buying an additional 52,195 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,694,202 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,650,692,000 after acquiring an additional 129,843 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total transaction 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 approximately $1,720,778.28. This represents a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $286,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,978 shares in the company, valued at $4,263,290. This represents a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 27,497 shares of company stock worth $8,461,400. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $306.49 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $305.71 and a 200 day moving average of $298.97. The company has a market capitalization of $218.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week 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%. Analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCD has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on McDonald’s from $360.00 to $353.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.87.

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.