Bailard Inc. Sells 189 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Bailard Inc. decreased its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,229 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 189 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $10,742,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 51.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MCD. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 5th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.72.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at $4,696,517.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD traded down $0.13 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $276.75. The stock had a trading volume of 4,005,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,254,401. The company has a market capitalization of $199.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.92, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $282.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $281.41. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $245.73 and a one year high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.12. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.22% and a negative return on equity of 171.96%. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.74%.

McDonald’s Company Profile

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.