Davis R M Inc. Sells 421 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Davis R M Inc. trimmed its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,416 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 421 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $4,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 10.4% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $848,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 22.5% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 2,083 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $587,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 40.0% in the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 43.4% in the first quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,075 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $867,000 after acquiring an additional 931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 161.3% in the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 14,438 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,071,000 after acquiring an additional 8,912 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MCD shares. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.46.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $290.28 on Monday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $299.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $278.20. The firm has a market cap of $208.02 billion, a PE ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.74.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.19 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.65%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of McDonald’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 value of $441,470.49. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $459,435.60. This trade represents a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $727,260.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 2,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $900,550. This represents a 44.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,498 shares of company stock valued at $10,381,296 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.