L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP Trims Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP lessened its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,204 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 65 shares during the period. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,378,000 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. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Wedbush upped their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. 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. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total transaction of $436,134.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,882. This represents a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total transaction of $321,457.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,716,155. The trade was a 10.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,406 shares of company stock worth $2,150,857. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $310.16 on Wednesday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $317.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $291.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $291.56. The company has a market cap of $222.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.23, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.