McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Stake Cut by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC decreased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,687 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 921 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $5,995,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morningstar Investment Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 226.3% in the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 3,031 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $897,000 after purchasing an additional 2,102 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 248.7% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 1,883 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $558,000 after buying an additional 1,343 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC now owns 3,445 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 1,406 shares during the last quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth about $617,000. Finally, Scholtz & Company LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $940,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MCD. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $288.00 to $278.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $309.15.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 9,291 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $2,833,755.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,193,080. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,751 shares of company stock worth $9,493,973 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of MCD traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $303.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,432,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,415,004. The firm has a market cap of $218.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50 day moving average of $286.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $271.88. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $306.96.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The company had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.17 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase 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 2.33%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.10%.

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.