Ascent Group LLC Sells 6,960 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Ascent Group LLC lowered its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 30.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,941 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 6,960 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $4,854,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter worth $59,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,716,155. This represents a 10.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 19.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,597 shares of company stock worth $10,702,754. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Guggenheim lowered shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.64.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD opened at $296.01 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $212.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $299.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $279.04. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

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.