California State Teachers Retirement System Sells 38,705 Shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

California State Teachers Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,155,610 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 38,705 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.16% of McDonald's worth $335,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morse Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 3,385 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,031,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald's by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,537 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald's during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,647,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of McDonald's by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,544 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $2,906,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the 3rd quarter worth $394,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 3,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total value of $962,432.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 9,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,964,892.08. This represents a 24.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,136 shares of company stock worth $8,676,247 over the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MCD shares. BTIG Research reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. KeyCorp increased their price objective on McDonald's from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on McDonald's from $310.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Erste Group Bank upgraded McDonald's from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on McDonald's from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald's has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $322.74.

McDonald's Price Performance

McDonald's stock traded up $5.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $319.79. 5,558,068 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,563,937. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $309.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $300.07. The company has a market capitalization of $228.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.08, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. McDonald's Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $326.32.

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

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.16%.

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.