Dark Forest Capital Management LP Lowers Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP lowered its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 24.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,382 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 449 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MCD. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the second quarter worth $38,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Keener Financial Planning LLC raised its position in shares of 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 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 Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MCD. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $280.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.22.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 9,291 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $2,833,755.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 43,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,193,080. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at $14,966,996.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 9,291 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $2,833,755.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,193,080. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,249 shares of company stock valued at $9,865,866. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $303.69 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $306.96. The company has a market capitalization of $218.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a fifty day moving average of $281.71 and a 200 day moving average of $271.02.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.17 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 56.71%.

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.