Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 113 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,895 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 113 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,622,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in McDonald’s by 3.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,567,030,000 after purchasing an additional 188,888 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 66.9% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,542,550,000 after buying an additional 2,193,769 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in McDonald’s by 8.0% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,216,677,000 after buying an additional 354,196 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 39.7% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,565,398 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,005,264,000 after buying an additional 1,012,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 31,151.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $706,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,311,721 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,721.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total transaction of $428,967.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,721.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,596 shares of company stock worth $10,698,289 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.46.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $298.97 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $299.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $276.64. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.90. The stock has a market cap of $214.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 178.99%. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a 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 presently 58.65%.

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.