Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Decreases Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT cut its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 174,771 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 3,293 shares during the quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $44,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 20.7% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 4,384 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,899 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $563,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,796 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $829,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 99.3% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 5,892 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,722,000 after acquiring an additional 2,935 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 272.9% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 22,983 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $6,815,000 after acquiring an additional 16,819 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $293.73 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $274.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $270.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.72. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $285,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,842,800. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total transaction of $428,967.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $446,721.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $285,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,780 shares in the company, valued at $3,842,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,291 shares of company stock valued at $1,689,073 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCD has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America cut their target price on McDonald’s from $288.00 to $278.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Guggenheim raised their target price on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on McDonald’s from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $306.11.

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.