Kingfisher Capital LLC Reduces Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Kingfisher Capital LLC reduced its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 19.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,021 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 483 shares during the period. Kingfisher Capital LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $848,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the first quarter valued at approximately $729,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the first quarter valued at approximately $444,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 7.1% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 6,933 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,955,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the period. Finally, Railway Pension Investments Ltd raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 131,600 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $37,105,000 after acquiring an additional 7,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $295.08 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.46 billion, a PE ratio of 25.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $299.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $278.78.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.65%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.57, for a total value of $328,128.43. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,484 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,428,777.88. This trade represents a 8.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,597 shares of company stock worth $10,702,754 over the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim downgraded McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.46.

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.