Accredited Investors Inc. Reduces Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Accredited Investors Inc. lowered its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,824 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 87 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 1,422 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.0% in the third quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,472 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GDS Wealth Management increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 2,504 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Tigress Financial upped their price target on McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.46.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This trade represents a 19.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at $3,632,712.10. This represents a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,596 shares of company stock worth $10,698,289. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Down 2.0 %

MCD stock opened at $292.63 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $300.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $277.46. The company has a market capitalization of $209.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.69, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.74. 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 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 company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.19 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.