SMART Wealth LLC Trims Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

SMART Wealth LLC lessened its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 17.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,780 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 377 shares during the period. SMART Wealth LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the third quarter worth $1,394,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,694,403,000 after purchasing an additional 49,106 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth about $1,628,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,471,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:MCD opened at $294.37 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $290.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $290.37. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90. The company has a market capitalization of $210.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MCD. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $336.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $318.86.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,807,201.25. This trade represents a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total transaction of $319,918.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,383,235.70. This represents a 11.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,406 shares of company stock worth $2,150,857 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Profile

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.