Beacon Financial Group Sells 73 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Beacon Financial Group cut its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 961 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 73 shares during the quarter. Beacon Financial Group’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in McDonald’s by 31,151.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $706,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,311,721 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 542.9% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $244,174,000 after purchasing an additional 677,139 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $121,254,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 3,580.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 268,650 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $81,807,000 after buying an additional 261,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 26,948.9% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,752 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $66,023,000 after buying an additional 226,910 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Guggenheim cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $307.47 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $291.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $291.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. As a group, analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total value of $436,134.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $453,882. The trade was a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value of $989,121.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. This trade represents a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,406 shares of company stock valued at $2,150,857 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Profile

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, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.