McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. decreased its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,660 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 945 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $21,821,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 176 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the subject of several research reports. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $318.22.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were 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 approximately $446,721.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total transaction 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total value of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at $3,632,712.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,256,818 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD traded up $1.08 on Tuesday, reaching $297.87. 2,845,153 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,488,243. The firm has a market cap of $214.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.73. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $297.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $275.16.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.17 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 60.10%.

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.