Dearborn Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Dearborn Partners LLC cut its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 194,699 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,007 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s comprises approximately 2.4% of Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $56,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,833,510,000 after acquiring an additional 220,365 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,082,894 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,592,892,000 after purchasing an additional 128,800 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,803,833 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,682,473,000 after purchasing an additional 52,195 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in McDonald’s by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,694,202 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,650,692,000 after buying an additional 129,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in McDonald’s by 0.7% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,765,049 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $841,966,000 after buying an additional 19,867 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on MCD. Bank of America lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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, February 11th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $286,395.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,263,290. The trade was a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total transaction of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. The trade was a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Down 1.4 %

MCD opened at $316.94 on Tuesday. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $326.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $296.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $296.56.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted 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 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders 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 2.23%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

About McDonald’s

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.