Donaldson Capital Management LLC Sells 3,045 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Donaldson Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,403 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 3,045 shares during the quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $5,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 106,340.3% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,235,890 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $5,069,234,000 after purchasing an additional 19,217,818 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth $2,341,360,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 10,702.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,174,426 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $644,739,000 after acquiring an additional 2,154,297 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1,189.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,191,692 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $541,962,000 after acquiring an additional 2,021,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 31,574.5% in the second quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 1,628,069 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $162,807,000 after acquiring an additional 1,622,929 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $320.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’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 value of $312,533.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD traded down $1.16 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $266.23. 3,686,602 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,249,550. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $245.73 and a one year high of $302.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.19, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $284.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $280.75.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.12. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 171.96% and a net margin of 33.22%. The business had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.59 EPS. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.35 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.74%.

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.