Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 156,230 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 4,254 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in McDonald’s were worth $45,414,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.39.

McDonald’s Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $306.83 on Thursday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The company’s 50 day moving average is $297.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $297.19. The company has a market cap of $219.21 billion, a PE ratio of 26.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71.

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, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 quarter, insiders sold 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.