Brown Capital Management LLC Sells 2,652 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Brown Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 77.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 787 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 2,652 shares during the period. Brown Capital Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $230,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 142.9% in the 2nd quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 85 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in McDonald’s in the first quarter worth $26,000. Finally, GFG Capital LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the second quarter worth $29,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE MCD opened at $308.02 on Friday. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $276.53 and a 1-year high of $326.32. The company has a 50 day moving average of $303.88 and a 200-day moving average of $304.01. The firm has a market cap of $219.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.28, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.52.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.33 by ($0.11). McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 280.89% and a net margin of 32.04%.The business had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 63.48%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 3,195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.82, for a total transaction of $977,094.90. Following the transaction, the insider owned 6,088 shares in the company, valued at $1,861,832.16. This represents a 34.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 13,134 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.42, for a total transaction of $3,945,716.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,383,734.52. This represents a 74.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 40,030 shares of company stock valued at $12,240,570 over the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $335.00 price objective on McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on McDonald’s from $322.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $324.57.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.