McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by Capital World Investors

Capital World Investors cut its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 46.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,526,876 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 2,205,930 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned 0.35% of McDonald’s worth $732,516,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in McDonald’s by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $20,341,391,000 after acquiring an additional 526,466 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% in the fourth 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 acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,725,190,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 52,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake 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 during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $310.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $307.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $299.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly 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, research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,720,778.28. The trade was a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,497 shares of company stock valued at $8,461,400 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $360.00 to $353.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler reduced 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nine equities research 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $322.87.

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.