Aries Wealth Management Lowers Holdings in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Aries Wealth Management trimmed its holdings in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,740 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 414 shares during the quarter. Aries Wealth Management’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 8.2% in the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 1,436 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,435 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $5,678,000 after acquiring an additional 2,209 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 17.5% during the 2nd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 710 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth about $323,000. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 12,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,606,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $324.73.

McDonald’s Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $304.59 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.35 billion, a PE ratio of 26.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.50. McDonald’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $276.53 and a twelve month high of $326.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $306.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $305.63.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.21% and a negative return on equity of 225.52%. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.97 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $310,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 99 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,690. This represents a 90.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total transaction of $281,221.11. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,780,165.67. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,402 shares of company stock worth $1,973,407 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.