Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 382 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 22,601 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 382 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $6,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc increased its position in McDonald’s by 15.7% in the first quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 1,605 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 97,497 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $27,489,000 after buying an additional 3,747 shares during the period. Alerus Financial NA acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 1st quarter worth about $4,030,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,146,998 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $323,396,000 after buying an additional 24,463 shares during the period. Finally, Lcnb Corp grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Lcnb Corp now owns 5,117 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,443,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total value of $371,893.48. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total value of $371,893.48. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.02, for a total value of $220,016.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,225.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,594 shares of company stock worth $1,454,507. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of McDonald’s stock traded down $1.35 during trading on Thursday, hitting $252.02. 197,859 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,450,973. The stock has a market cap of $181.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.51, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $256.29 and its 200-day moving average is $274.22. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.01). McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.36% and a negative return on equity of 180.74%. The company had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. KeyCorp cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, July 19th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $308.57.

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.