Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Decreases Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. cut its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,122,535 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 38,145 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s accounts for 2.0% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $332,843,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCD. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s by 10,702.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,174,426 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $644,739,000 after purchasing an additional 2,154,297 shares in the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter worth $192,165,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 174.7% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 947,653 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $249,693,000 after acquiring an additional 602,707 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 16.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,997,877 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $789,762,000 after acquiring an additional 429,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Winslow Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 39.6% in the third quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,306,329 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $344,139,000 after acquiring an additional 370,699 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the sale, the insider now 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 currently owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $273.12 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $281.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $281.53. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $245.73 and a 52-week high of $302.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.59 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Wedbush dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $318.41.

About McDonald’s

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.