McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,873 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 335 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 155,740 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $46,179,000 after buying an additional 2,546 shares during the last quarter. Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC now owns 1,051 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.6% during the third quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 80,441 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $21,191,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services now owns 11,025 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,269,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mengis Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,522 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’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 transaction of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCD traded down $2.96 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $270.32. 2,642,344 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,812,742. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $245.73 and a 1-year high of $302.39. The stock has a market cap of $194.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $279.53 and its 200-day moving average is $282.35.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 180.54% and a net margin of 33.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.63 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.18 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MCD. Citigroup reduced their price objective on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $291.00 to $341.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $317.74.

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.