Bard Financial Services Inc. Trims Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Bard Financial Services Inc. reduced its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 4.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 57,410 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the period. McDonald’s makes up 2.1% of Bard Financial Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $17,482,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 31,151.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $706,202,000 after buying an additional 2,311,721 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 542.9% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $244,174,000 after buying an additional 677,139 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter worth about $110,321,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $121,254,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 8.0% in 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 last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $300.71 on Wednesday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.41, a PEG ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $299.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $280.30.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.19 EPS. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid 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 2.35%. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MCD shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Guggenheim downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.64.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, CFO Ian Frederick Borden sold 5,939 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total transaction of $1,781,937.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,121,716.12. This trade represents a 22.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 19.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,099 shares of company stock worth $10,273,786 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About McDonald’s

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.