McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by Smithfield Trust Co

Smithfield Trust Co lowered its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,678 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 39 shares during the quarter. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $6,607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in McDonald’s by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $848,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the period. Rodgers Brothers Inc. lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 53.3% in the 1st quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 1,869 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD. boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 102.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD. now owns 3,635 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,025,000 after buying an additional 1,843 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Inc. CA increased its stake in McDonald’s by 122.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 19,089 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $5,382,000 after buying an additional 10,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Sarl raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 120.8% during the first quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 20,882 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $5,888,000 after acquiring an additional 11,425 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. The trade was a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $459,435.60. This trade represents a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,596 shares of company stock worth $10,698,289 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.1 %

MCD opened at $290.89 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $208.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.54, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $300.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $277.84. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on MCD shares. Robert W. Baird cut McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.46.

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.