Troy Asset Management Ltd Cuts Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Troy Asset Management Ltd lowered its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 11.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 147,532 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 19,509 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s makes up about 1.2% of Troy Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Troy Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $37,597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter worth $628,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 11,747 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,969,000 after acquiring an additional 1,143 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 266.7% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 202,375 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $51,573,000 after acquiring an additional 147,184 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth about $7,352,000. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 7.7% during the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 58,352 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $14,870,000 after purchasing an additional 4,153 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 9,291 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,193,080. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Ian Frederick Borden sold 5,939 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total transaction of $1,781,937.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,121,716.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $2,833,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,193,080. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 33,249 shares of company stock valued at $9,865,866. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $304.37 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $282.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $271.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.35 billion, a PE ratio of 25.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.72. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $306.96.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). The business 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 business’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.17 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 56.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on MCD. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $308.22.

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.