T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Sells 978,455 Shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 92.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 78,136 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 978,455 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in McDonald's were worth $22,651,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald's by 110.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other McDonald's news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 3,200 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total value of $962,432.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 9,858 shares in the company, valued at $2,964,892.08. This represents a 24.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,136 shares of company stock worth $8,676,247. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on MCD shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on McDonald's from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of McDonald's from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of McDonald's from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp increased 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $322.74.

McDonald's Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of MCD opened at $316.60 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. McDonald's Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $326.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $308.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $299.78.

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, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. Analysts predict that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is 62.16%.

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.

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