McDonald’s Corporation $MCD Shares Sold by Ethos Financial Group LLC

Ethos Financial Group LLC reduced its position in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,003 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 235 shares during the quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,409,095 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $21,993,689,000 after buying an additional 239,753 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,341,460 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,917,993,000 after acquiring an additional 1,344,954 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,965,159 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,800,447,000 after purchasing an additional 97,966 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,142,473 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,606,354,000 after purchasing an additional 123,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 19.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,982,825 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,556,485,000 after purchasing an additional 815,768 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $298.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.57, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $304.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $305.20. McDonald’s Corporation has a 12 month low of $276.53 and a 12 month high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.11). McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.21% and a negative return on equity of 225.52%. The company had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 63.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 99 shares in the company, valued at $30,690. This trade represents a 90.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value of $315,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 6,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,160,270. This represents a 12.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MCD shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Melius initiated coverage on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They set a “sell” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.91.

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.