Keating Investment Counselors Inc. Has $361,000 Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Keating Investment Counselors Inc. cut its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 43.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,415 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the period. Keating Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,684,899,000. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 141,160.9% in the 4th quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 5,613,710 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,664,521,000 after purchasing an additional 5,609,736 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 66.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,542,550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193,769 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the first quarter worth approximately $348,206,000. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 39.7% in 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 in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.5 %

MCD stock opened at $289.51 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $302.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $268.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $270.76. The firm has a market cap of $208.64 billion, a PE ratio of 24.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.72.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.17 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.67 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 56.71%.

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 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. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at $3,632,712.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,721.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 6,291 shares of company stock worth $1,689,073. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on MCD shares. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $303.67.

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.