Hilton Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Hilton Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 5,294 shares during the quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $10,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value of $989,121.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. The trade was a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of MCD opened at $297.45 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $326.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $296.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $296.71. The company has a market capitalization of $212.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. 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.