McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Stake Lowered by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 843,126 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 43,538 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $256,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $290.23 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $298.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $282.20. The stock has a market cap of $207.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.48, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.73. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.19 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.75 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 62.16%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 11,484 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,428,777.88. The trade was a 8.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 19.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,099 shares of company stock worth $10,273,786. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MCD. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Robert W. Baird cut McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.50.

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.