Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 14,386 Shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 307,535 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 14,386 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in McDonald's were worth $89,151,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in McDonald's in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in McDonald's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in McDonald's during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of McDonald's by 110.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald's Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of McDonald's stock opened at $314.28 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $311.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $301.32. The company has a market capitalization of $224.72 billion, a PE ratio of 27.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57. McDonald's Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.67. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.70 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is 62.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MCD shares. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of McDonald's from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Wedbush raised their price objective on McDonald's from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Northcoast Research downgraded McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America increased their price target on McDonald's from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on McDonald's from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald's presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $325.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 10,459 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.71, for a total transaction of $3,228,797.89. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,606 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,918.26. This represents a 69.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $286,395.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,978 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,263,290. This trade represents a 6.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,337 shares of company stock worth $4,123,534. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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