Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Sells 1,101 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,430 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,101 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $14,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. PKS Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth $1,065,000. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,871 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $832,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,236 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $938,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. First American Trust FSB lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. First American Trust FSB now owns 23,683 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $6,865,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management Inc. CA boosted its position in McDonald’s by 108.4% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. CA now owns 971 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $305.85 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $299.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $297.65. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $326.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total value of $84,225.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,405 shares of company stock worth $9,886,656 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.39.

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.