Cozad Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,122 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 215 shares during the quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $273.07 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $196.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $245.73 and a 52-week high of $302.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $280.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $282.33.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.22% and a negative return on equity of 171.96%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.63 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.74%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,696,517.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MCD shares. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Bank of America upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $291.00 to $341.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $317.67.

McDonald’s 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.