Sterling Capital Management LLC Sells 893 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Sterling Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 17.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,282 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 893 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,241,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Morse Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 3,385 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 11.6% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,537 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,647,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.9% during the third quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,544 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,906,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $394,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.60, for a total value of $334,755.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $475,176. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at $2,214,275.25. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 27,497 shares of company stock worth $8,461,400. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $312.34 on Wednesday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $307.01 and its 200-day moving average is $299.18. The firm has a market cap of $223.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62.

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 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid 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 yield of 2.27%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCD has been the topic of several recent research reports. KeyCorp increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $322.87.

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.