Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Sells 269,750 Shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. trimmed its position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 98.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,183 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 269,750 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s holdings in McDonald's were worth $1,213,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Transactions at McDonald's

In related news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total transaction of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. The trade was a 15.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.07, for a total value of $295,850.73. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,161 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,516,496.27. The trade was a 7.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,878 shares of company stock valued at $904,192. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MCD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on McDonald's from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wedbush increased their target price on McDonald's from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Securities reissued a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald's in a report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $325.91.

McDonald's Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MCD traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $314.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,701,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,545,274. The company has a market cap of $224.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57. McDonald's Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $326.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $311.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $301.54.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67. The company had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.17 billion. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.70 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. 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 currently 62.49%.

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.