Simplicity Wealth LLC Sells 4,258 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Simplicity Wealth LLC reduced its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 67.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,016 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 4,258 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mattern Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 30,110 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $8,729,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Bell Bank lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Bell Bank now owns 12,699 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,681,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth about $1,394,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth about $1,628,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,694,403,000 after acquiring an additional 49,106 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $453,882. The trade was a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,187 shares in the company, valued at $2,383,235.70. The trade was a 11.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $316.94 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $296.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $296.56. The company has a market cap of $226.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on MCD shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.