Biltmore Family Office LLC Trims Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Biltmore Family Office LLC reduced its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,152 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 47 shares during the period. Biltmore Family Office LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 110.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MCD. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Erste Group Bank raised McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 10,459 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.71, for a total value of $3,228,797.89. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,918.26. This trade represents a 69.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,497 shares of company stock valued at $8,461,400 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $311.69 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $303.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $298.56. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32. The company has a market cap of $222.69 billion, a PE ratio of 27.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.