Bridgewater Associates LP Trims Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Bridgewater Associates LP lowered its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 78.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 236,633 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 837,803 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $72,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 3.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,567,030,000 after purchasing an additional 188,888 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,694,403,000 after acquiring an additional 49,106 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 8.0% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,216,677,000 after acquiring an additional 354,196 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 31,151.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $706,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,311,721 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.1% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,015,441 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $613,722,000 after acquiring an additional 22,780 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $296.31 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50-day moving average of $299.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $278.55. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.65%.

Insider Activity

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total transaction of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $446,721.60. This trade represents a 48.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total value of $321,457.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,155. This trade represents a 10.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 35,597 shares of company stock worth $10,702,754. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. 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.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.46.

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.