McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by Independent Advisor Alliance

Independent Advisor Alliance decreased its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,881 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 9,532 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s comprises about 0.8% of Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $22,802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 3.2% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,694,403,000 after acquiring an additional 49,106 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,216,677,000 after purchasing an additional 354,196 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $706,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,311,721 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in McDonald’s by 1.1% during the 3rd 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. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Ian Frederick Borden sold 5,939 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total transaction of $1,781,937.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,121,716.12. This trade represents a 22.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $446,721.60. This represents a 48.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,498 shares of company stock valued at $10,381,296 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on MCD shares. Baird R W downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup raised their price target on McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.46.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD opened at $290.28 on Monday. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $317.90. The firm has a market cap of $208.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $299.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $278.20.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.19 EPS. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. This is a positive change 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 presently 58.65%.

McDonald’s 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.