Verus Capital Partners LLC Sells 668 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Verus Capital Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,318 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 668 shares during the quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in McDonald’s by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,567,030,000 after buying an additional 188,888 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 66.9% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,542,550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193,769 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,216,677,000 after buying an additional 354,196 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake 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 during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 31,151.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $706,202,000 after buying an additional 2,311,721 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $301.53 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $299.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $276.82. The stock has a market cap of $216.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.47, a PEG ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.99% and a net margin of 31.79%. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.19 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued 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 yield of 2.35%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 58.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,632,712.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total transaction of $441,470.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $459,435.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,596 shares of company stock valued at $10,698,289. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Baird R W lowered shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.46.

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.