James Investment Research Inc. Sells 506 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

James Investment Research Inc. lessened its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,578 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 506 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s makes up approximately 1.3% of James Investment Research Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. James Investment Research Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $11,443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. raised its position in McDonald’s by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 1,422 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $513,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,472 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 4,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,269,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McAdam LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 2,176 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $663,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Argus upgraded McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Guggenheim downgraded McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.46.

McDonald’s Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $295.24 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $298.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $275.78. The company has a market cap of $211.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.99% and a net margin of 31.79%. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.78 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.65%.

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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $446,721.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $446,721.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,256,818 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.