ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 270 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,705 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 270 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,395,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 51.9% during the third quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Retirement Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MCD shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $345.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.72.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of McDonald’s stock traded up $1.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $271.99. The company had a trading volume of 2,904,090 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,245,232. The company has a market capitalization of $196.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $283.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $280.72. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $245.73 and a 1-year high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.22% and a negative return on equity of 171.96%. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.59 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.74%.

About McDonald’s

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.