New York State Common Retirement Fund Reduces Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 991,024 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 10,239 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $287,288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Callahan Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 59,810 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $17,338,000 after buying an additional 4,538 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 65.9% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 35,237 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $10,215,000 after purchasing an additional 13,998 shares in the last quarter. Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. now owns 7,552 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,189,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Waycross Partners LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 1,818.0% during the fourth quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 49,445 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $14,334,000 after purchasing an additional 46,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 13,692 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,969,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Baird R W downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. The trade was a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 sale, the insider now directly 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 17,906 shares of company stock valued at $5,406,382 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE MCD opened at $304.85 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $292.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $293.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.76, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week 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 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

McDonald’s 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.