Alpha Cubed Investments LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC reduced its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,661 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,573 shares during the period. McDonald’s comprises approximately 1.2% of Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $26,389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at $6,612,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 58.9% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 138,102 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $35,194,000 after purchasing an additional 51,210 shares during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its position in McDonald’s by 411.4% during the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 7,497 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,223,000 after purchasing an additional 6,031 shares during the period. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the first quarter worth approximately $7,898,000. Finally, First Long Island Investors LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC now owns 54,021 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $15,231,000 after purchasing an additional 7,707 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MCD shares. KeyCorp increased their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.12.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD opened at $300.88 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.54, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a fifty day moving average of $286.67 and a 200 day moving average of $271.72. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $306.96.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.17 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 60.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 9,291 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $2,833,755.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 43,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,193,080. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 9,291 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,256 shares in the company, valued at $13,193,080. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of McDonald’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,751 shares of company stock worth $9,493,973. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.