Carl P. Sherr & Co. LLC Decreases Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Carl P. Sherr & Co. LLC reduced its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 16.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,041 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,159 shares during the period. McDonald’s comprises 1.0% of Carl P. Sherr & Co. LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Carl P. Sherr & Co. LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,840,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MCD. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim lowered McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Citigroup boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total transaction of $428,967.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,721.60. This trade represents a 48.99 % 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 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.57, for a total transaction of $328,128.43. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,484 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,428,777.88. This trade represents a 8.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,597 shares of company stock valued at $10,702,754 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD opened at $295.08 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $299.98 and its 200 day moving average is $278.78. The stock has a market cap of $211.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 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 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. 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. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.65%.

About McDonald’s

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.