Centaurus Financial Inc. Decreases Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Centaurus Financial Inc. lowered its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 6.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,025 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 362 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,530,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.57, for a total value of $328,128.43. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,484 shares in the company, valued at $3,428,777.88. This represents a 8.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This represents a 19.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,498 shares of company stock valued at $10,381,296 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MCD. Baird R W cut McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective 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, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.46.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $290.28 on Monday. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s fifty day moving average is $299.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $278.20.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.65%.

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.