McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by Meridiem Investment Management Ltd.

Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. lowered its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 37.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,462 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the period. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $749,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 32.3% during the first quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 176 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the second quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the second quarter worth $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Guggenheim upped their target price on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays lowered their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. KeyCorp upped their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $315.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’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 value of $285,740.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,557,060. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total value of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,097 shares of company stock worth $10,221,233 in the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock traded up $1.86 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $316.56. The company had a trading volume of 2,531,197 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,356,786. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $317.18. The company has a market capitalization of $228.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $294.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $273.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The company had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.17 EPS. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.71 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.10%.

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.