Bailard Inc. Reduces Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Bailard Inc. reduced its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 36,229 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 189 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $10,742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MCD. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, March 25th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays decreased their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.72.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD stock traded down $0.13 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $276.75. 4,005,918 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,254,401. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $245.73 and a 52-week high of $302.39. The company has a market cap of $199.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.92, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $282.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $281.41.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 171.96% and a net margin of 33.22%. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.59 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.33 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.74%.

McDonald’s 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.