Columbia Asset Management Trims Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Columbia Asset Management lessened its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,556 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,571 shares during the quarter. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $4,474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,049,310 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $20,473,811,000 after buying an additional 599,745 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,684,899,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,347,048 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,178,474,000 after buying an additional 987,099 shares during the period. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 141,160.9% during the 4th quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 5,613,710 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,664,521,000 after purchasing an additional 5,609,736 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,542,550,000 after buying an additional 2,193,769 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total transaction of $371,893.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $387,285.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total value of $371,893.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $387,285.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total value of $316,992.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,291 shares of company stock valued at $1,689,073. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $288.00 to $278.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on McDonald’s from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $303.89.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $287.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $207.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $267.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $270.93. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The firm’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.17 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 56.71%.

McDonald’s 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.