Bank OZK Reduces Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Bank OZK lessened its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,935 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 308 shares during the quarter. Bank OZK’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,141,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 542.9% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $244,174,000 after purchasing an additional 677,139 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 43,591.6% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 590,711 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $171,241,000 after acquiring an additional 589,359 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $121,254,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 3,580.1% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 268,650 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $81,807,000 after acquiring an additional 261,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 26,948.9% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,752 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $66,023,000 after purchasing an additional 226,910 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $308.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $220.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $317.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $294.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $295.09.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. On average, equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MCD shares. 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 research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird raised 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. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced 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 report on Tuesday, February 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

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.