McDonald’s Corporation $MCD Shares Sold by Whipplewood Advisors LLC

Whipplewood Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 0.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,763 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 34 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s accounts for 0.8% of Whipplewood Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Whipplewood Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HFM Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the first quarter valued at $26,000. GFG Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the first quarter worth about $31,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $306.05 on Friday. McDonald’s Corporation has a one year low of $276.53 and a one year high of $326.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $306.49 and a 200-day moving average of $305.65. The company has a market capitalization of $218.39 billion, a PE ratio of 26.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 225.52% and a net margin of 32.21%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.97 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.67%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $770,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,754 shares in the company, valued at $2,713,740. This represents a 22.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $315,000.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer 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. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,463 shares of company stock worth $1,692,186 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on MCD shares. Morgan Stanley set a $335.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, October 17th. BTIG Research reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on McDonald’s from $350.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Bank of America lowered their price target on McDonald’s from $327.00 to $322.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on McDonald’s from $360.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $324.50.

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.