Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Sells 4,179 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC cut its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 15,755 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 4,179 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $4,798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at about $59,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Macroview Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 433.3% in the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 256 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,632,712.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.57, for a total value of $328,128.43. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,484 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,428,777.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,596 shares of company stock worth $10,698,289. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Guggenheim downgraded McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.46.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of MCD stock opened at $301.34 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $299.34 and a 200-day moving average of $276.82. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The firm has a market cap of $216.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.47, a PEG ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 178.99%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.19 EPS. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. 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. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 58.65%.

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.