Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC Has $597,000 Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,059 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 132 shares during the period. Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MCD. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at $2,725,190,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at $703,074,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in McDonald’s by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,054,387 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,175,326,000 after purchasing an additional 794,536 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 43,591.6% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 590,711 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $171,241,000 after buying an additional 589,359 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,277,907 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,240,122,000 after acquiring an additional 583,649 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total transaction of $309,270.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. The trade was a 15.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total value of $84,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at $2,214,275.25. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 27,497 shares of company stock valued at $8,461,400. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $299.32 on Tuesday. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $326.32. The company has a market cap of $213.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.28, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $304.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $298.84.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on MCD shares. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Erste Group Bank raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $322.87.

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, Spain, and the U.K.