McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Stock Position Reduced by Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC

Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 21.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,708 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 479 shares during the period. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in 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 acquiring an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $729,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $444,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 7.1% in the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 6,933 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,955,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Railway Pension Investments Ltd lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 5.7% in the first quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 131,600 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $37,105,000 after acquiring an additional 7,100 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $295.08 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $299.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $278.78.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.19 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Guggenheim cut shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.57, for a total transaction of $328,128.43. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,484 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,428,777.88. This trade represents a 8.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of McDonald’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 transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold 35,597 shares of company stock valued at $10,702,754 in the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.