Tower Bridge Advisors Reduces Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Tower Bridge Advisors cut its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,818 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 2,077 shares during the period. McDonald’s makes up about 2.1% of Tower Bridge Advisors’ holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Tower Bridge Advisors’ holdings in McDonald’s were worth $19,950,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 542.9% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $244,174,000 after purchasing an additional 677,139 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 43,591.6% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 590,711 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $171,241,000 after buying an additional 589,359 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at $121,254,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI raised its position in McDonald’s by 3,580.1% during the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 268,650 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $81,807,000 after buying an additional 261,350 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 26,948.9% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,752 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $66,023,000 after buying an additional 226,910 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD opened at $308.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $220.84 billion, a PE ratio of 27.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $294.06 and a 200-day moving average of $295.09. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. On average, research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MCD shares. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, February 10th. KeyCorp upped their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.61.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total value of $319,918.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,383,235.70. The trade was a 11.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575 in the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.