ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Lowers Stake in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,285 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 909 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $960,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,143 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,087,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,919 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,190,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC grew its position in McDonald’s by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 18,456 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $5,392,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. grew its position in McDonald’s by 26.1% during the 2nd quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 888 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its position in McDonald’s by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 17,325 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $5,062,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $300.72 on Friday. McDonald’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $276.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $306.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $306.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $214.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.50.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.04. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.21% and a negative return on equity of 225.52%. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on MCD shares. Loop Capital downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $346.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Friday, June 6th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Redburn Atlantic reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $260.00 target price (down previously from $319.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $356.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Melius started coverage on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $325.86.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $315,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 6,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,160,270. The trade was a 12.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $310,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 99 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,690. The trade was a 90.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,402 shares of company stock worth $2,273,407 over the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Profile

McDonald’s Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.