Gradient Investments LLC Sells 54,442 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Gradient Investments LLC trimmed its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD – Get Rating) by 90.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,921 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 54,442 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. West Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 520.0% in the 3rd quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC now owns 124 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. WD Rutherford LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Cowa LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. 66.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,396 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.44, for a total transaction of $370,554.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,755.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,396 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.44, for a total value of $370,554.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,755.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 3,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.69, for a total value of $1,030,606.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 34,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,271,978.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,122 shares of company stock worth $2,177,681. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $267.20 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.62. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $228.34 and a 1 year high of $281.67. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $267.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $262.86.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 31st. The fast-food giant reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.13. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 120.10% and a net margin of 26.65%. The company had revenue of $5.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.23 EPS. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 10.51 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $1.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 28th. This represents a $6.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 72.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MCD shares. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $280.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $283.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.80.

McDonald’s Company Profile

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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, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.