WealthTrust Axiom LLC Trims Holdings in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

WealthTrust Axiom LLC lowered its stake in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 11.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,716 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 230 shares during the period. WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 142.9% during the second quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 85 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, GFG Capital LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 3,195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.82, for a total transaction of $977,094.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 6,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,861,832.16. This represents a 34.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 13,134 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.42, for a total value of $3,945,716.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,383,734.52. The trade was a 74.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 34,463 shares of company stock valued at $10,549,351 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $381.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $362.00 to $358.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 6th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $324.57.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $312.43 on Friday. McDonald’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $276.53 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $303.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $304.20. The stock has a market cap of $222.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.77, 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, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $1.86 dividend. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 63.48%.

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.