North Star Investment Management Corp. Lowers Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

North Star Investment Management Corp. cut its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,226 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 109 shares during the quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $6,159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 32.3% in the 1st 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 period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $59,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Macroview Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 433.3% in the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 256 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total transaction of $321,325.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,036,366.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total transaction of $321,325.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,036,366.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the business’s 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,097 shares of company stock worth $10,256,818 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MCD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird cut shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.46.

McDonald’s Stock Up 1.2 %

McDonald’s stock traded up $3.56 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $296.41. 588,528 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,512,856. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.90. The company has a market cap of $212.63 billion, a PE ratio of 25.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $298.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $276.05.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 178.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.19 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. 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. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.65%.

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.