Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Lowers Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. trimmed its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,558 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 3,687 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $5,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 10.4% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $848,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the first quarter worth $729,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the first quarter worth $444,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 7.1% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 6,933 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,955,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Railway Pension Investments Ltd raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 131,600 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $37,105,000 after purchasing an additional 7,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of MCD opened at $295.08 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The company has a market capitalization of $211.46 billion, a PE ratio of 25.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s 50 day moving average is $299.98 and its 200 day moving average is $278.78.

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

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on MCD shares. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.46.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This represents a 19.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total transaction of $321,457.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,155. This represents a 10.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,597 shares of company stock worth $10,702,754 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.