Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. reduced its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 56.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,642 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 3,429 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MCD. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 110.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at $31,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MCD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at $2,214,275.25. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $305.07 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $326.32. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $298.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $297.38. The firm has a market cap of $217.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. Equities research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 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.