Global Retirement Partners LLC Sells 3,760 Shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Global Retirement Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 19.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,232 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 3,760 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $4,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald's by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $4,833,510,000 after buying an additional 220,365 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings 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 worth $4,592,892,000 after purchasing an additional 128,800 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of McDonald's by 0.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,694,403,000 after purchasing an additional 49,106 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in McDonald's by 0.7% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,765,049 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $841,966,000 after purchasing an additional 19,867 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in McDonald's by 31,151.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $706,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,311,721 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD traded up $1.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $304.59. The company had a trading volume of 1,469,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,150,121. McDonald's Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.90. The company's 50-day moving average price is $292.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $293.51. The firm has a market cap of $218.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. On average, research analysts anticipate that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. McDonald's's payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on McDonald's from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald's in a report on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald's currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $323.61.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total transaction of $436,134.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,882. This represents a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of McDonald'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 transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,106 shares of company stock worth $6,368,814. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.