GPM Growth Investors Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

GPM Growth Investors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,167 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 287 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s accounts for approximately 2.5% of GPM Growth Investors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. GPM Growth Investors Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $5,846,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,809 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $5,317,000 after acquiring an additional 1,451 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth $102,000. United Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,778 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $846,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth $213,000. Finally, JFG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth $356,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,383,235.70. This trade represents a 11.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $307.58 on Thursday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.00, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50-day moving average of $294.82 and a 200-day moving average of $295.91.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting 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, 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 will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.