Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Sells 5,215 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 182,192 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 5,215 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $52,816,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 110.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler upped their price target on McDonald’s from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $325.48.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.50, for a total value of $299,071.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,853,850. This trade represents a 7.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total transaction of $962,432.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 9,858 shares in the company, valued at $2,964,892.08. This trade represents a 24.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 28,136 shares of company stock worth $8,676,247. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Up 1.2 %

MCD opened at $315.73 on Tuesday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $309.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $299.88. The company has a market capitalization of $225.77 billion, a PE ratio of 27.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.67. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.70 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.49%.

McDonald’s Profile

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.