WFA Asset Management Corp Sells 125 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

WFA Asset Management Corp decreased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 895 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 51.9% during the third quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Retirement Group LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD traded up $1.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $271.99. The company had a trading volume of 3,017,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,163,395. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $283.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $280.72. The stock has a market cap of $196.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.51, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $245.73 and a 12 month high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.22% and a negative return on equity of 171.96%. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 57.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.72.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.