Clearbridge Investments LLC Lowers Stock Position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its holdings in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,001 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 1,611 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $5,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. United Bank lifted its stake in McDonald's by 3.5% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 6,446 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,963,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,031,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in McDonald's by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 317,489 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $96,679,000 after acquiring an additional 4,161 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 31.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 52,600 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $16,017,000 after acquiring an additional 12,562 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in McDonald's by 1.7% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,095,710 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $333,719,000 after purchasing an additional 18,474 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on MCD shares. Erste Group Bank raised shares of McDonald's from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of McDonald's from $360.00 to $353.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on McDonald's from $310.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. TD Securities reissued a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on McDonald's from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $322.87.

McDonald's Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MCD traded down $0.79 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $299.32. The stock had a trading volume of 7,724,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,542,740. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $304.46 and a 200-day moving average of $298.84. The firm has a market cap of $213.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.28, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. McDonald's Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32.

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 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, equities analysts predict that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total value of $84,225.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at $2,214,275.25. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 27,497 shares of company stock valued at $8,461,400. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

McDonald's 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.