Impax Asset Management Group plc Sells 694 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Impax Asset Management Group plc trimmed its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,032 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 694 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,968,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 3.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,567,030,000 after acquiring an additional 188,888 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 66.9% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,542,550,000 after acquiring an additional 2,193,769 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 8.0% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,216,677,000 after acquiring an additional 354,196 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 39.7% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,565,398 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,005,264,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012,534 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 31,151.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $706,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,311,721 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MCD. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp upped their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Baird R W lowered McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.46.

McDonald’s Stock Down 2.0 %

McDonald’s stock opened at $292.52 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The stock has a market cap of $209.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $300.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $277.29.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its 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. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total transaction of $321,325.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,036,366.30. This trade represents a 9.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,721.60. This represents a 48.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,596 shares of company stock worth $10,698,289. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.