Cutler Investment Counsel LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Cutler Investment Counsel LLC decreased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 56,082 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,962 shares during the period. McDonald’s makes up about 2.2% of Cutler Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $17,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 31,151.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $706,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,311,721 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in McDonald’s by 66.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,542,550,000 after buying an additional 2,193,769 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 1st quarter worth $348,206,000. Capital World Investors boosted its position in McDonald’s by 39.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,565,398 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,005,264,000 after buying an additional 1,012,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at about $110,321,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,966,996.55. This trade represents a 19.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total value of $441,470.49. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $459,435.60. The trade was a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,596 shares of company stock valued at $10,698,289. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Down 2.0 %

NYSE MCD traded down $5.93 on Friday, reaching $292.63. 4,039,432 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,509,453. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $300.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $277.42. The company has a market cap of $209.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released 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 analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $1.77 dividend. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 58.65%.

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.