Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,936 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,066 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $15,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 4,384 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,899 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,796 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $829,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 99.3% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 5,892 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,722,000 after acquiring an additional 2,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 24,424 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $7,242,000 after acquiring an additional 1,524 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on McDonald’s in a report on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $288.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $305.37.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $296.53 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $213.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.72. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $302.39. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $272.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $270.47.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The business’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.17 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.67 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 56.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $446,721.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $285,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,557,060. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $446,721.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,291 shares of company stock worth $1,689,073 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s 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.