Provident Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Provident Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,968 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 278 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s makes up approximately 0.3% of Provident Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Provident Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Yoffe Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $892,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,830 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $820,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at $502,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 35,052 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $10,134,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 8,605 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,495,000 after purchasing an additional 1,930 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Up 2.1 %

McDonald’s stock opened at $318.15 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $304.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $298.69. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $326.32. The company has a market capitalization of $227.31 billion, a PE ratio of 27.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MCD. KeyCorp upped their price target on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wedbush increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.30.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 10,459 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.71, for a total value of $3,228,797.89. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,606 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,918.26. The trade was a 69.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,497 shares of company stock valued at $8,461,400. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s 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.