McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by West Wealth Group LLC

West Wealth Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,189 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 314 shares during the quarter. West Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 51.9% in the third quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Retirement Group LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of MCD stock traded up $1.09 on Thursday, reaching $283.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 593,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,140,801. The company has a market capitalization of $204.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $290.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $280.92. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $245.73 and a 1 year high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 171.96% and a net margin of 33.22%. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 57.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MCD shares. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $320.60.

About McDonald’s

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.