Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Sells 10,124 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich trimmed its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 461,077 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 10,124 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $136,714,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Syon Capital LLC grew its stake in McDonald’s by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 5,915 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,754,000 after buying an additional 951 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 34,451 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $10,215,000 after purchasing an additional 2,346 shares in the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 155,740 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $46,179,000 after purchasing an additional 2,546 shares in the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 57,601 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $17,079,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New Hampshire boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 7,339 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,176,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD traded down $1.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $275.60. 4,175,333 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,266,706. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.71 billion, a PE ratio of 23.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $282.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $281.41. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $245.73 and a 1 year high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.22% and a negative return on equity of 171.96%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.72.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’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 directly owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’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 directly owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.