Quest Partners LLC Sells 5,921 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Quest Partners LLC cut its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 92.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 465 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 5,921 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Clear Investment Research LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Price Performance

McDonald’s stock opened at $296.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $213.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $273.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $270.50. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.17 EPS. Research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.67 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 56.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total transaction of $371,893.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,285.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,632,712.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total transaction of $371,893.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $387,285.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,291 shares of company stock valued at $1,689,073 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America dropped 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. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $306.11.

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.