Granite Investment Partners LLC Sells 485 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Granite Investment Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,701 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 485 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 110.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Up 1.0 %

MCD opened at $309.84 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $221.37 billion, a PE ratio of 27.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $326.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $306.10 and a 200-day moving average of $299.00.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total value of $84,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 27,497 shares of company stock valued at $8,461,400. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MCD shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $360.00 to $353.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.87.

About McDonald’s

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, Spain, and the U.K.