Davis Rea LTD. Reduces Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Davis Rea LTD. trimmed its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,265 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 117 shares during the period. McDonald’s makes up 1.1% of Davis Rea LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Davis Rea LTD.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,106,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 2.8% during the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. GDS Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 2,504 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 1,882 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 1.3% in the third quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 2,887 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $879,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 9,396 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MCD. Barclays boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, February 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

McDonald’s Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $309.88 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $293.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $294.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month 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%. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total transaction of $436,134.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, 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 this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 8,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,383,235.70. This trade represents a 11.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,504 shares of company stock valued at $9,897,305 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.