MCF Advisors LLC Decreases Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

MCF Advisors LLC cut its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,051 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 51 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Toth Financial Advisory Corp raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 28,213 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $7,955,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Weaver Consulting Group raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Weaver Consulting Group now owns 829 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. WD Rutherford LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 26.1% in the 1st quarter. WD Rutherford LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,913 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $821,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norris Perne & French LLP MI acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $268,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MCD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $330.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $315.14.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $285,480.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,842,800. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.13, for a total value of $291,377.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,209,734.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $285,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 14,780 shares in the company, valued at $3,842,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,095 shares of company stock valued at $1,100,625 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Down 1.3 %

MCD stock traded down $3.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $254.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,958,712 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,556,529. The company has a market capitalization of $183.66 billion, a PE ratio of 21.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $245.73 and a 12 month high of $302.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $263.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $279.28.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 180.74% and a net margin of 33.36%. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.19 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 56.71%.

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.