Brick & Kyle Associates Cuts Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Brick & Kyle Associates lowered its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,918 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 98 shares during the period. Brick & Kyle Associates’ holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Keener Financial Planning LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 32.3% in the first quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 176 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on MCD. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial cut their price target on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $275.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $308.22.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD stock opened at $303.69 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $281.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $271.18. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $306.96. The company has a market capitalization of $218.86 billion, a PE ratio of 25.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.72.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 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 company had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.69 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 56.71%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at $3,632,712.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at $3,632,712.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,249 shares of company stock valued at $9,865,866 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.