Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Sells 2,409 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 4.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 56,546 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 2,409 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s accounts for about 1.8% of Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $17,219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 1,422 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 2.0% during the third quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,472 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,057,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, GDS Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.4% in the third quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 2,504 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $762,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on MCD. UBS Group increased their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, October 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $342.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. This represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total transaction of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,721.60. This represents a 48.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,596 shares of company stock worth $10,698,289 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD opened at $292.63 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $317.90. The firm has a market cap of $209.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $300.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $277.46.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.19 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.65%.

McDonald’s Company 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.