Cullen Capital Management LLC Cuts Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Cullen Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,775 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 319 shares during the period. Cullen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $20,341,391,000 after buying an additional 526,466 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,074,438 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,652,768,000 after acquiring an additional 157,458 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at $2,725,190,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,803,833 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,682,473,000 after purchasing an additional 52,195 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,694,202 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,650,692,000 after purchasing an additional 129,843 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Down 5.8 %

NYSE:MCD opened at $299.68 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $304.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $298.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $214.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total value of $84,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total value of $962,432.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 9,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,964,892.08. The trade was a 24.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,497 shares of company stock valued at $8,461,400 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on McDonald’s from $360.00 to $353.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Erste Group Bank upgraded McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.30.

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.