Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 27,807 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its stake in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 4.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 564,287 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 27,807 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $164,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. GFG Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the second quarter worth $32,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of MCD opened at $305.01 on Thursday. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $276.53 and a 1-year high of $326.32. The firm has a market cap of $217.66 billion, a PE ratio of 26.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $304.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $305.25.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its 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). The business had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.10 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.21% and a negative return on equity of 225.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $1.86 per share. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $310,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 99 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,690. The trade was a 90.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $315,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 6,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,160,270. The trade was a 12.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MCD. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $327.00 to $322.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 10th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $323.43.

About McDonald’s

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.