Alta Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 164 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Alta Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,194 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 164 shares during the quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MCD. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the first quarter worth $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 32.3% during the first quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 176 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the second quarter worth about $65,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of MCD opened at $316.56 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $228.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.87, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $294.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $273.70. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.18.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.17 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.71 EPS for the current 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 paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. 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 2.24%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 60.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $288.00 to $278.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $315.69.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were 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 approximately $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other McDonald’s news, 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 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 $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at $3,632,712.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,097 shares of company stock worth $10,221,233 over the last quarter. 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.