Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Has $22.24 Million Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,038 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 6,558 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $22,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in McDonald’s by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 7,872 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,397,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 1,593 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $226,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in McDonald’s by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,273,002 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $387,642,000 after buying an additional 17,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in McDonald’s by 34.1% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 18,558 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $5,651,000 after buying an additional 4,721 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at $14,966,996.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,966,996.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,097 shares of company stock worth $10,221,233 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $315.69.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock traded up $1.86 on Friday, reaching $316.56. 2,531,197 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,356,786. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $294.62 and its 200-day moving average is $273.73. The firm has a market cap of $228.14 billion, a PE ratio of 26.87, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.17 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

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