Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 12,281 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 572,173 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 12,281 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned 0.08% of McDonald’s worth $174,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Perpetual Ltd acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the 1st quarter valued at $237,000. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 2,196 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 12.5% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,249 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,311,000 after purchasing an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 52,164 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $14,708,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the period. Finally, Orser Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Orser Capital Management LLC now owns 4,102 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,157,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

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 value of $316,992.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,632,712.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other McDonald’s 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 value of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at $3,632,712.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the company’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 value of $428,967.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $446,721.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,097 shares of company stock worth $10,221,233. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp increased their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Argus raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $295.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, July 29th. Ten 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $315.69.

McDonald’s Price Performance

McDonald’s stock traded up $1.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $316.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,531,197 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,356,786. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $294.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $273.73. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.18. The stock has a market cap of $228.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued 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). 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.