Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Reduces Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. cut its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,916 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 762 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s accounts for about 1.6% of Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,585,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,833,510,000 after acquiring an additional 220,365 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,082,894 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,592,892,000 after acquiring an additional 128,800 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,803,833 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,682,473,000 after acquiring an additional 52,195 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,694,403,000 after acquiring an additional 49,106 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,765,049 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $841,966,000 after acquiring an additional 19,867 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $308.17 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.06, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $294.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $295.27. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $317.90.

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

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,720,778.28. This represents a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total value of $319,918.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,187 shares in the company, valued at $2,383,235.70. This represents a 11.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MCD shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

About McDonald’s

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.