Sheets Smith Wealth Management Sells 498 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Sheets Smith Wealth Management decreased its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,579 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 498 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 31,151.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $706,202,000 after buying an additional 2,311,721 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 66.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,193,769 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $348,206,000. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 39.7% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,565,398 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,005,264,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $110,321,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective 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. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America raised 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. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.46.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $298.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $214.46 billion, a PE ratio of 26.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $317.90. The business’s fifty day moving average is $299.08 and its 200 day moving average is $276.64.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.99% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.19 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.65%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was 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 owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,966,996.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at $3,632,712.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,596 shares of company stock worth $10,698,289. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.