LM Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

LM Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 59.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,872 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 2,722 shares during the quarter. LM Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $547,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in McDonald’s by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,331,031 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $20,840,787,000 after acquiring an additional 921,936 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in McDonald’s by 0.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,828,352 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $10,175,800,000 after purchasing an additional 272,139 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,828,420 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,901,595,000 after purchasing an additional 276,065 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,780,712,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in McDonald’s by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,341,460 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,917,993,000 after purchasing an additional 1,344,954 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $316.84 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $304.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $303.78. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $276.53 and a 1-year high of $326.32. The company has a market cap of $225.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.52.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.11). McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.04% and a negative return on equity of 280.89%. The business had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 63.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $381.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. BTIG Research reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $362.00 to $358.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $324.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 13,134 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.42, for a total transaction of $3,945,716.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,383,734.52. This represents a 74.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ian Frederick Borden sold 17,134 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $5,311,540.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 26,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,169,430. The trade was a 39.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,030 shares of company stock worth $12,240,570. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s 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.