Legal & General Group Plc Decreases Stake in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Legal & General Group Plc cut its holdings in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 26.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,349,092 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 1,548,645 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.61% of McDonald's worth $1,260,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boltwood Capital Management grew its position in McDonald's by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 1,882 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Pettee Investors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of McDonald's by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Pettee Investors Inc. now owns 5,401 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,566,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 9,396 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $2,724,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. increased its position in shares of McDonald's by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 736 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Barn Wealth LLC raised its stake in McDonald's by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 871 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on McDonald's from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of McDonald's from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $360.00 to $353.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of McDonald's from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, McDonald's has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $322.87.

McDonald's Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:MCD traded up $2.56 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $306.52. 3,500,332 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,568,216. The company has a market cap of $219.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $305.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $298.93. McDonald's Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $326.32.

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

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. McDonald's's payout ratio is 62.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction 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 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. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at $2,214,275.25. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. 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. Company 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, Spain, and the U.K.