Old North State Trust LLC Cuts Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Old North State Trust LLC trimmed its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,823 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 94 shares during the quarter. Old North State Trust LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its stake in McDonald’s by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 4,384 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,300,000 after acquiring an additional 753 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,899 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,796 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $829,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 803,765 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $238,324,000 after purchasing an additional 128,808 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 58,419 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $17,322,000 after buying an additional 3,782 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their price target on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $288.00 to $278.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $280.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.22.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of MCD stock opened at $303.69 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $218.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.78, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.72. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $306.96. The company’s 50 day moving average is $281.71 and its 200 day moving average is $270.93.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The company’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.17 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.69 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.71%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at $14,966,996.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total transaction of $371,893.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $387,285.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,966,996.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,249 shares of company stock valued at $9,865,866 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.