Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Sells 2,746 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 29,194 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 2,746 shares during the quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $8,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Boltwood Capital Management raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 1,882 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Pettee Investors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Pettee Investors Inc. now owns 5,401 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,566,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 9,396 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,724,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 736 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Barn Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 871 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price 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. Citigroup cut their price target on McDonald’s from $360.00 to $353.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.87.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were 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 represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,497 shares of company stock valued at $8,461,400 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD opened at $299.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.28, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a fifty day moving average of $304.80 and a 200 day moving average of $298.86. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share 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, equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.16%.

About McDonald’s

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.