Freedom Investment Management Inc. Sells 200 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 5.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,420 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,041,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $848,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP raised its position in McDonald’s by 109.0% during the first quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 1,549 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the first quarter worth about $729,000. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 2,003 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 1st quarter valued at about $444,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MCD shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Argus raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.46.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $295.02 on Thursday. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $317.90. The company has a market capitalization of $211.42 billion, a PE ratio of 25.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $299.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $278.67.

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

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were 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 $446,721.60. This trade represents a 48.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total transaction of $321,457.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,155. The trade was a 10.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 35,597 shares of company stock valued at $10,702,754. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About McDonald’s

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.