Smith & Howard Wealth Management LLC Lowers Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Smith & Howard Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 10.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 881 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Smith & Howard Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MCD. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in McDonald’s by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,449,565 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $18,032,353,000 after purchasing an additional 262,147 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 106,340.3% during 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. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in McDonald’s by 1.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,200,473 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,423,773,000 after purchasing an additional 151,161 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,341,360,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in McDonald’s by 4.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,390,035 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,401,570,000 after purchasing an additional 237,532 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MCD shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays cut their target price on McDonald’s from $343.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Bank of America upped their target price on McDonald’s from $291.00 to $341.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.72.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of MCD traded up $1.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $271.99. 3,017,097 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,163,395. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $245.73 and a 1 year high of $302.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $283.10 and its 200-day moving average is $280.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.59 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.33 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Company 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.