Captrust Financial Advisors Cuts Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Captrust Financial Advisors lowered its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 174,519 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 6,138 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in McDonald’s were worth $53,143,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MCD. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at about $59,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,721.60. This trade represents a 48.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $727,260.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 2,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $900,550. The trade was a 44.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,597 shares of company stock worth $10,702,754. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $320.00 to $290.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.46.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $296.01 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $299.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $278.95. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $317.90. The company has a market cap of $212.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.19 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $1.77 dividend. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 58.65%.

About McDonald’s

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.