Widmann Financial Services Inc. Reduces Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Widmann Financial Services Inc. decreased its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,731 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 223 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s comprises 2.2% of Widmann Financial Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Widmann Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,963,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 1,422 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Riversedge Advisors LLC raised its stake in McDonald’s by 2.0% during the third quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in McDonald’s by 1.0% during the third quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,472 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,057,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GDS Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 2,504 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $762,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $296.01 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90. The company’s 50 day moving average is $299.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $278.95. The company has a market cap of $212.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 58.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 value of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 19.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total value of $321,457.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,286 shares in the company, valued at $2,716,155. This represents a 10.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,597 shares of company stock worth $10,702,754 over 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.