Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Cuts Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund cut its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 220,370 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 5,800 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s makes up about 0.6% of Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $63,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 22,205 shares of company stock worth $6,703,569. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $304.76 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $292.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $293.92. The company has a market capitalization of $218.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. As a group, equities analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. McDonald’s’s 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, Spain, and the U.K.