Sandhill Capital Partners LLC Sells 1,417 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Sandhill Capital Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,225 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,417 shares during the quarter. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $4,811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Independent Wealth Network Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 863 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 1,374 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Unique Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 3,249 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $963,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Patron Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 5,158 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wagner Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 906 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on MCD. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. BTIG Research lowered McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $291.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $345.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.72.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.4 %

McDonald’s stock traded down $1.15 during trading on Thursday, hitting $275.60. 4,175,333 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,266,706. The business’s 50 day moving average is $282.38 and its 200 day moving average is $281.41. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $245.73 and a 52 week high of $302.39. The company has a market capitalization of $198.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.82, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.12. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 171.96% and a net margin of 33.22%. The business had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

About McDonald’s

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.