First Heartland Consultants Inc. Trims Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

First Heartland Consultants Inc. lowered its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,280 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $390,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the second quarter worth about $59,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the second quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Macroview Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 433.3% during the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 256 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Down 1.0 %

MCD stock opened at $298.65 on Wednesday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $299.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $276.82. The stock has a market cap of $214.01 billion, a PE ratio of 26.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.19 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current 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 given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 58.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MCD shares. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,596 shares of company stock valued at $10,698,289 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.