McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by Amundi

Amundi lessened its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,222,580 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 165,258 shares during the period. Amundi owned approximately 0.31% of McDonald’s worth $637,658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,833,510,000 after buying an additional 220,365 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,082,894 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,592,892,000 after acquiring an additional 128,800 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,803,833 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,682,473,000 after acquiring an additional 52,195 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,694,202 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,650,692,000 after acquiring an additional 129,843 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.7% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,765,049 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $841,966,000 after acquiring an additional 19,867 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $321.52 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $229.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $323.17. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $295.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $296.25.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total transaction of $319,918.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,383,235.70. The trade was a 11.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

About McDonald’s

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.