Brown Financial Advisors Reduces Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Brown Financial Advisors trimmed its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,638 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. Brown Financial Advisors’ holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Price Performance

McDonald’s stock opened at $307.34 on Tuesday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.24 billion, a PE ratio of 26.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $292.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $294.35.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total transaction of $319,918.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,383,235.70. This trade represents a 11.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,106 shares of company stock valued at $6,382,112. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America increased their target price on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

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.