McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by Cutler Investment Counsel LLC

Cutler Investment Counsel LLC reduced its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 56,082 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,962 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s makes up 2.2% of Cutler Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $17,077,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MCD. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at about $59,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Macroview Investment Management LLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 433.3% during the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 256 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at $14,966,996.55. This represents a 19.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $727,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 2,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $900,550. The trade was a 44.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,596 shares of company stock valued at $10,698,289. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of MCD traded down $5.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $292.63. 4,039,432 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,509,453. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $317.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $300.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $277.42. The company has a market cap of $209.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.74.

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

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. 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. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 58.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MCD shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Truist Financial dropped their price target on McDonald’s from $350.00 to $342.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.46.

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.