Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV Sells 83 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV decreased its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,523 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 83 shares during the period. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mattern Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 30,110 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $8,729,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Bell Bank boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Bell Bank now owns 12,699 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,681,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at about $1,394,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,628,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 0.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,694,403,000 after buying an additional 49,106 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $307.58 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $219.75 billion, a PE ratio of 27.00, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $317.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $294.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $295.91.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. On average, research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 62.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at $1,720,778.28. This trade represents a 15.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total value of $319,918.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,383,235.70. This represents a 11.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575 over the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MCD shares. Citigroup increased their target price on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. KeyCorp increased their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America increased their target price on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

About McDonald’s

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.