McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 839,345 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 46,998 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.12% of McDonald’s worth $255,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of MCD stock opened at $296.15 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $212.23 billion, a PE ratio of 26.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $299.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $278.40. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business 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 $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. 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. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MCD shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.57, for a total transaction of $328,128.43. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,484 shares in the company, valued at $3,428,777.88. This trade represents a 8.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,721.60. This trade represents a 48.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,498 shares of company stock valued at $10,381,296 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.