Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel Cuts Position in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel reduced its stake in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 48.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,531 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 2,365 shares during the quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,331,031 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $20,840,787,000 after buying an additional 921,936 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,828,352 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $10,175,800,000 after acquiring an additional 272,139 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 1.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,828,420 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,901,595,000 after acquiring an additional 276,065 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,780,712,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 29,382.3% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,737,548 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,676,339,000 after purchasing an additional 5,718,087 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald’s news, CFO Ian Frederick Borden sold 17,134 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $5,311,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,169,430. The trade was a 39.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 3,195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.82, for a total value of $977,094.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 6,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,861,832.16. This represents a 34.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,142 shares of company stock worth $13,841,169. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $307.53 on Friday. McDonald’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $278.73 and a twelve month high of $326.32. The company has a market cap of $219.01 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50 day moving average is $308.76 and its 200 day moving average is $305.43.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 32.04% and a negative return on equity of 280.89%. The business had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.10 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 63.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $328.88.

About McDonald’s

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is a global quick-service restaurant company best known for its hamburgers, French fries and breakfast offerings. The company develops, operates and franchises a system of restaurants that sell a range of food and beverage items, including signature products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, McCafé coffee beverages and a variety of salads, desserts and seasonal menu items. McDonald’s serves customers through company-operated restaurants and franchised locations, and it supports sales via dine-in, drive-thru, digital ordering platforms and third-party delivery partnerships.

Founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald as a single San Bernardino, California restaurant, the business was transformed into a franchising model after Ray Kroc joined in the mid-1950s and led the brand’s national and international expansion.