Appleton Partners Inc. MA Sells 616 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA reduced its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 18,625 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 616 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $5,399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the third quarter worth $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the third quarter worth about $58,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MCD shares. Truist Financial cut their target price on McDonald’s from $350.00 to $342.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird downgraded McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $334.00 to $336.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.86.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE MCD opened at $294.39 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $290.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $290.40. The firm has a market cap of $210.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. This trade represents a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total value of $436,134.05. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $453,882. The trade was a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,406 shares of company stock valued at $2,150,857 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.