Salomon & Ludwin LLC Reduces Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Salomon & Ludwin LLC lessened its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,317 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 110 shares during the quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,991,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,394,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,628,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,694,403,000 after buying an additional 49,106 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,186 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $14,978,000 after buying an additional 2,997 shares during the period. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,471,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE MCD opened at $308.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $221.14 billion, a PE ratio of 27.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $317.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $291.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $292.20.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. Research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the firm’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 owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,906 shares of company stock worth $5,406,382 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.