Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Reduces Stock Position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC cut its position in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 22.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,119 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 924 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $904,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Bank lifted its holdings in McDonald's by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 6,446 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,963,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's during the third quarter worth approximately $687,000. Atom Investors LP bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the third quarter valued at approximately $938,000. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 2.1% in the third quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,678 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in McDonald's by 3.9% in the third quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,293 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MCD shares. Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald's in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of McDonald's from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of McDonald's from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of McDonald's from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald's has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $323.30.

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Insider Transactions at McDonald's

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total transaction of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. This represents a 15.23 % 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 ninety days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Price Performance

MCD traded up $6.57 during trading on Thursday, reaching $318.15. 7,020,608 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,517,180. McDonald's Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $303.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $298.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (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%. Equities analysts forecast that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.16%.

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.