Searle & CO. Lowers Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Searle & CO. cut its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 21,025 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 334 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s comprises about 1.6% of Searle & CO.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Searle & CO.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $6,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 1st quarter valued at $69,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total value of $316,992.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,998 shares of company stock worth $9,935,493 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Down 5.1 %

McDonald’s stock opened at $298.75 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $296.97 and its 200 day moving average is $274.51. The company has a market capitalization of $215.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36, a PEG ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.17 EPS. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.71 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on MCD shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.22.

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.