Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Reduces Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,500 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,900 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $11,161,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,394,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at $1,628,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 6.5% during 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 acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth $2,471,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $310.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $222.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.23, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90. The business has a fifty day moving average of $291.02 and a 200-day moving average of $291.56.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. On average, equities research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MCD shares. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Guggenheim lowered McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total value of $321,457.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,716,155. This trade represents a 10.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at $2,807,201.25. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,406 shares of company stock valued at $2,150,857 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

About McDonald’s

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.