Alpha Family Trust Reduces Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Alpha Family Trust decreased its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,415 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 235 shares during the period. Alpha Family Trust’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MCD. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 10.4% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $848,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 9.3% during the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,653 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $466,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 6.7% during the first quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 15,881 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,478,000 after acquiring an additional 995 shares in the last quarter. Lcnb Corp lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.1% during the first quarter. Lcnb Corp now owns 5,117 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,443,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.2% during the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,146,998 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $323,396,000 after acquiring an additional 24,463 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $292.63 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $300.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $277.46. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $209.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% 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 period last year, the firm earned $3.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued 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 dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MCD shares. UBS Group increased their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.46.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the 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 directly owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This represents a 19.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total transaction of $441,470.49. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $459,435.60. This represents a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,596 shares of company stock worth $10,698,289. 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.