Centric Wealth Management Sells 1,088 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Centric Wealth Management lessened its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 19.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,434 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,088 shares during the quarter. Centric Wealth Management’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in McDonald’s by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $20,341,391,000 after purchasing an additional 526,466 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,074,438 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,652,768,000 after acquiring an additional 157,458 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,082,894 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,592,892,000 after acquiring an additional 128,800 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth about $2,725,190,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,803,833 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,682,473,000 after purchasing an additional 52,195 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $453,882. This represents a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total transaction of $309,270.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. The trade was a 15.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,996 shares of company stock valued at $8,897,534. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MCD shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $312.74 on Tuesday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $302.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $298.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.46, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71.

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

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

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, Spain, and the U.K.