Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 19,156 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 352,028 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 19,156 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $107,196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter worth $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MCD shares. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp increased their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $320.50.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This trade represents a 19.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.57, for a total transaction of $328,128.43. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,484 shares in the company, valued at $3,428,777.88. The trade was a 8.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,099 shares of company stock valued at $10,273,786 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.1 %

MCD stock opened at $296.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.29 billion, a PE ratio of 26.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $299.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $280.82. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.19 EPS. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.75 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 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.16%.

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.