Waddell & Associates LLC Sells 90 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Waddell & Associates LLC lowered its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 7.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,081 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 90 shares during the period. Waddell & Associates LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $446,721.60. This represents a 48.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 19.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 34,498 shares of company stock worth $10,381,296. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MCD shares. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Robert W. Baird downgraded McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.46.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $290.30 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $299.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $278.06. The firm has a market cap of $208.03 billion, a PE ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share 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 175.42%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share 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 given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 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.