Vestcor Inc Reduces Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Vestcor Inc lowered its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,326 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,271 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $14,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boltwood Capital Management raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 1,882 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Pettee Investors Inc. raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Pettee Investors Inc. now owns 5,401 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,566,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 9,396 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,724,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 736 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $213,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Barn Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 871 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at $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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of MCD opened at $299.40 on Thursday. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $326.32. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $296.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $296.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.29, a PEG 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 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MCD. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

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.