Winthrop Advisory Group LLC Trims Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Winthrop Advisory Group LLC reduced its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,576 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 167 shares during the period. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 1,422 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,472 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,057,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Founders Financial Alliance LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 4,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,269,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MCD shares. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.46.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $294.68 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $298.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $276.35. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 178.99%. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.19 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total transaction of $441,470.49. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $459,435.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total value of $441,470.49. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $459,435.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $14,966,996.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,596 shares of company stock worth $10,698,289. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s 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.