ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Lowers Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 5.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,981 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 279 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,517,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in McDonald’s by 3.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,567,030,000 after purchasing an additional 188,888 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,542,550,000 after buying an additional 2,193,769 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,216,677,000 after buying an additional 354,196 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 39.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,565,398 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,005,264,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co lifted its position in McDonald’s by 0.4% during the first quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 2,273,354 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $640,972,000 after acquiring an additional 8,475 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $315.69.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $312.93 on Thursday. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $315.36. The company has a market cap of $225.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $292.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.19.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.17 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.71 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 dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were 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 owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at $3,632,712.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $285,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,557,060. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,221,233 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.