Iron Gate Global Advisors LLC Sells 956 Shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Iron Gate Global Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,893 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 956 shares during the period. Iron Gate Global Advisors LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $1,708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Morse Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in McDonald's by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 3,385 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,031,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald's by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,537 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald's during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,647,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in McDonald's by 1.9% in the 3rd 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. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's in the third quarter valued at about $394,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Price Performance

NYSE MCD traded up $1.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $310.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,726,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,584,180. McDonald's Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $326.32. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $307.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $299.30. The company has a market cap of $222.07 billion, a P/E 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) 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 predict that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald's

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,497 shares of company stock valued at $8,461,400 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of McDonald's from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America raised their target price on McDonald's from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on McDonald's from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $322.87.

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.