McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Position Lessened by W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co

W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co lowered its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 4.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,362 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 103 shares during the quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $58,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the second quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the second quarter worth $65,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MCD shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 19.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total transaction of $441,470.49. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $459,435.60. This represents a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,596 shares of company stock valued at $10,698,289. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $291.10 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.56, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $300.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $277.60.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

McDonald’s 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.