Connors Investor Services Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Connors Investor Services Inc. decreased its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 93.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,030 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 40,336 shares during the period. Connors Investor Services Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 5.9% in the second quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,555 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Alpha Family Trust lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. Alpha Family Trust now owns 1,650 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $420,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in McDonald’s by 52.0% in the 2nd quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,780 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,218,000 after buying an additional 1,635 shares during the last quarter. Hill Island Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 7.6% during the second quarter. Hill Island Financial LLC now owns 3,309 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $843,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpha Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 4.2% during the second quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC now owns 965 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $288.00 to $278.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $306.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total transaction of $428,967.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,721.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $446,721.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $285,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,681 shares in the company, valued at $3,557,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,291 shares of company stock worth $1,689,073 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD opened at $296.66 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $273.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $270.50. The stock has a market cap of $213.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.72. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.17 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.67 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 56.71%.

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.