PGGM Investments Cuts Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

PGGM Investments lessened its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 13.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,347 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 10,968 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in McDonald’s were worth $20,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Independent Wealth Network Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 863 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Paragon Capital Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 1,374 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Unique Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 3,249 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $963,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 5,158 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Wagner Wealth Management LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 906 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $343.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. UBS Group cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $318.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCD traded down $2.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $273.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,636,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,338,426. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $281.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $281.53. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $245.73 and a twelve month high of $302.39. The stock has a market cap of $196.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.12. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 171.96% and a net margin of 33.22%. The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.59 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 57.74%.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.