Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Reduces Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 20.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 454,320 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 117,877 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $131,703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,725,190,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth $703,074,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 542.9% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $244,174,000 after acquiring an additional 677,139 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 43,591.6% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 590,711 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $171,241,000 after acquiring an additional 589,359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in McDonald’s by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $20,341,391,000 after purchasing an additional 526,466 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 10,459 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.71, for a total transaction of $3,228,797.89. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,918.26. The trade was a 69.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total transaction of $309,270.00. Following the completion of 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. Insiders have sold 32,405 shares of company stock valued at $9,886,656 in the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

McDonald’s Price Performance

McDonald’s stock opened at $312.87 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32. The company has a market cap of $223.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $301.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $297.99.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. On average, analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.