McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by IMS Capital Management

IMS Capital Management lessened its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,751 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. IMS Capital Management’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $798,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Riversedge Advisors LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 2.0% in the third quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.8% during the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. GDS Wealth Management increased its position in McDonald’s by 1.4% during the third quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 2,504 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 1,882 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McAdam LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.7% during the third quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 2,176 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $663,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $309.99 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $317.90. The stock has a market cap of $222.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $291.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $292.08.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly 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 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. On average, equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,906 shares of company stock worth $5,406,382. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.