Zacks Investment Management Trims Holdings in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Zacks Investment Management trimmed its holdings in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 323,214 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 34,982 shares during the quarter. Zacks Investment Management's holdings in McDonald's were worth $93,697,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in McDonald's during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 period. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in McDonald's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald's news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total transaction of $309,270.00. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 27,497 shares of company stock worth $8,461,400. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of McDonald's from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of McDonald's from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on McDonald's from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on McDonald's from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald's in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nine equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald's currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $322.87.

McDonald's Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD traded up $1.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $310.82. 2,726,918 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,587,186. The stock has a market cap of $222.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $307.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $299.32. 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 announced its 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%. As a group, analysts expect that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

McDonald's Company 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.