Focused Investors LLC Decreases Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Focused Investors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 433,500 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 8,000 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s accounts for approximately 4.0% of Focused Investors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Focused Investors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $132,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MCD. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $59,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Macroview Investment Management LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 433.3% in the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 256 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Down 2.0 %

MCD stock opened at $292.63 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $300.06 and a 200-day moving average of $277.46. The company has a market cap of $209.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 58.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.46.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $727,260.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 2,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $900,550. This represents a 44.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total value of $316,992.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,632,712.10. The trade was a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 35,596 shares of company stock valued at $10,698,289. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Profile

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.