Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Has $11.16 Million Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lessened its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,500 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,900 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $11,161,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in McDonald’s in the third quarter worth $1,394,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at $1,628,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% during the 3rd 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 during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,186 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $14,978,000 after acquiring an additional 2,997 shares during the period. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,471,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on MCD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total value of $436,134.05. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $453,882. This represents a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at $2,807,201.25. The trade was a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,406 shares of company stock worth $2,150,857 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $310.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $291.02 and a 200-day moving average of $291.56.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. Equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.16%.

McDonald’s 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, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.