WD Rutherford LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

WD Rutherford LLC reduced its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 22.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,247 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 936 shares during the quarter. WD Rutherford LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $941,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 31,151.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $706,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,311,721 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in McDonald’s by 542.9% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $244,174,000 after buying an additional 677,139 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at about $121,254,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 3,580.1% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 268,650 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $81,807,000 after buying an additional 261,350 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 26,948.9% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,752 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $66,023,000 after acquiring an additional 226,910 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total value of $319,918.90. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total value of $436,134.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $453,882. This represents a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,906 shares of company stock valued at $5,406,382 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $308.59 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $291.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $292.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. Analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MCD shares. Barclays raised their price target on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.61.

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, Spain, and the U.K.