Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. reduced its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,756 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 90 shares during the quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $521,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Independent Wealth Network Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 863 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 1,374 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Unique Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 3,249 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $963,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Patron Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 5,158 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,529,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wagner Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 906 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MCD. UBS Group cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.72.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD stock traded down $1.24 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $275.64. 1,526,184 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,222,265. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $282.61 and its 200-day moving average is $281.45. The company has a market cap of $198.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.80, a PEG ratio of 3.03 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.12. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.22% and a negative return on equity of 171.96%. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.59 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.74%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at $4,696,517.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.