Belmont Capital LLC Lowers Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Belmont Capital LLC trimmed its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 79.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,637 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 6,155 shares during the quarter. Belmont Capital LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth $58,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter worth about $65,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $291.10 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $300.06 and a 200-day moving average of $277.60. The stock has a market cap of $208.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.56, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.19 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $1.77 dividend. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 58.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total value of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,632,712.10. This represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total transaction of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,721.60. The trade was a 48.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,596 shares of company stock worth $10,698,289 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MCD. Truist Financial lowered their target price on McDonald’s from $350.00 to $342.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.46.

McDonald’s Company 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.