Aufman Associates Inc Reduces Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Aufman Associates Inc lessened its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,029 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 102 shares during the quarter. Aufman Associates Inc’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 110.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at $1,720,778.28. This trade represents a 15.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total value of $436,134.05. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,882. This represents a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 32,405 shares of company stock valued at $9,886,656. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MCD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays increased their target price on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

McDonald’s Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of MCD opened at $306.95 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $301.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $298.10. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $326.32. The company has a market cap of $219.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

McDonald’s Company 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, Spain, and the U.K.