Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Sells 693 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,015 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 693 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $4,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 4.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,593,760 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,209,171,000 after purchasing an additional 199,657 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,911,764 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,159,877,000 after purchasing an additional 26,147 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on McDonald’s from $343.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on McDonald’s from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.41.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.9 %

McDonald’s stock traded down $2.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $273.09. The stock had a trading volume of 3,636,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,338,426. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $281.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $281.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.90 billion, a PE ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $245.73 and a 12 month high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.