Cannell & Spears LLC Sells 248 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Cannell & Spears LLC reduced its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,472 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 248 shares during the period. Cannell & Spears LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. United Bank boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 6,446 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,963,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at $687,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $72,000. Aureus Asset Management LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC now owns 13,943 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,246,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atom Investors LP bought a new position in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $938,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total transaction of $436,134.05. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $453,882. This represents a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 28,996 shares of company stock valued at $8,897,534. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD stock opened at $312.74 on Tuesday. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $326.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $302.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $298.35. The company has a market capitalization of $223.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.46, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued 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 net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.