Financial Security Advisor Inc. Cuts Stake in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Financial Security Advisor Inc. reduced its position in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,277 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 223 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s comprises approximately 1.1% of Financial Security Advisor Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Financial Security Advisor Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $4,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $20,341,391,000 after buying an additional 526,466 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,074,438 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,652,768,000 after purchasing an additional 157,458 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,652,445 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,088,037,000 after purchasing an additional 531,070 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth about $2,725,190,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in McDonald’s by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,570,511,000 after purchasing an additional 895,896 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.52, for a total transaction of $270,920.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,949,251.44. This represents a 8.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 8,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,657,400. This trade represents a 10.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,817 shares of company stock worth $1,165,843 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $260.00 price target (down from $319.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Northcoast Research lowered shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $322.29.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $299.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $214.37 billion, a PE ratio of 26.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.53. McDonald’s Corporation has a one year low of $246.12 and a one year high of $326.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $304.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $302.54.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67. The company had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.17 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.75% and a negative return on equity of 195.27%. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.70 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.49%.

About McDonald’s

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.