AQR Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

AQR Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 397,432 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 142,067 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of McDonald’s worth $101,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 141,160.9% during the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 5,613,710 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,664,521,000 after acquiring an additional 5,609,736 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 66.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,542,550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193,769 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 1st quarter worth about $348,206,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 39.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,565,398 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,005,264,000 after buying an additional 1,012,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,347,048 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,178,474,000 after buying an additional 987,099 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $285,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,557,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,958 shares of company stock worth $7,032,111. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of MCD stock opened at $303.65 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $217.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.78, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $279.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $270.89. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $304.29.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 56.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MCD. Citigroup upped their price target on McDonald’s from $275.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.22.

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.