Bridgewater Associates LP Has $37.49 Million Position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Bridgewater Associates LP lowered its holdings in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 45.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 129,334 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 107,299 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in McDonald's were worth $37,493,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth $2,725,190,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald's in the 4th quarter valued at about $703,074,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in McDonald's by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,054,387 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,175,326,000 after acquiring an additional 794,536 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its position in McDonald's by 1,547.1% during the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 641,950 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $179,715,000 after acquiring an additional 602,976 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald's by 43,591.6% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 590,711 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $171,241,000 after purchasing an additional 589,359 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MCD. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on McDonald's from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of McDonald's from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on McDonald's from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on McDonald's from $360.00 to $353.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on McDonald's from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $322.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald's

In other news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of McDonald'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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. This trade represents a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total value of $84,225.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,214,275.25. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,497 shares of company stock valued at $8,461,400. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McDonald's Trading Up 0.6 %

MCD traded up $1.72 during trading on Friday, reaching $310.82. 2,726,918 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,587,186. McDonald's Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $326.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $307.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $299.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.07 billion, a PE ratio of 27.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. Sell-side analysts expect that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

About McDonald's

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.