Herold Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Herold Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,884 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Herold Advisors Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,448,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,000 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,167 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,015,000 after buying an additional 1,210 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 5,915 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,754,000 after buying an additional 951 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 34,451 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $10,215,000 after purchasing an additional 2,346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 155,740 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $46,179,000 after purchasing an additional 2,546 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at $4,696,517.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at $4,696,517.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $318.41.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.9 %

MCD opened at $273.12 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $196.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50 day moving average is $281.68 and its 200 day moving average is $281.53. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $245.73 and a 12-month high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.22% and a negative return on equity of 171.96%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 57.74%.

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.