Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Sells 2,136 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. trimmed its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 19,770 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 2,136 shares during the quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $5,731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meredith Wealth Planning boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,197 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. KLCM Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 3,684 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,068,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 225.7% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1,509.1% during the 4th quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 73,424 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $21,285,000 after acquiring an additional 68,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC now owns 2,323 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $673,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.5 %

MCD opened at $308.59 on Monday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $291.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $292.90. The company has a market capitalization of $221.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.09, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. On average, equities research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total value of $436,134.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,882. The trade was a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,906 shares of company stock valued at $5,406,382 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Baird R W cut McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. KeyCorp upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

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.