LGT Group Foundation Decreases Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

LGT Group Foundation trimmed its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,823 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 931 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MCD. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,912 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,031,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 2.8% in the third quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 6,386 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,682,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Northstar Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 5.8% during the third quarter. Northstar Asset Management LLC now owns 4,776 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Mastrapasqua Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.8% during the third quarter. Mastrapasqua Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,796 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $8,113,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Finally, Gill Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 5.4% in the third quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 855 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $270.32 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $194.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.95, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $280.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $282.21. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $245.73 and a fifty-two week high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.36% and a negative return on equity of 180.54%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.63 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.18 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 56.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Bank of America increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $291.00 to $341.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $317.74.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.