Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Sells 4,886 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lessened its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,092 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 4,886 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $23,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Summit Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $213,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 10,133 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,086,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,058 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $203,000. Finally, Americana Partners LLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 4,563 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,389,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE MCD opened at $308.17 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.06, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $294.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $295.27.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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, equities research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 62.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total value of $319,918.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,383,235.70. This represents a 11.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,720,778.28. This 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 sold 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MCD shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.