Chase Investment Counsel Corp Sells 60 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Chase Investment Counsel Corp lowered its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 4.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,354 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 60 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $412,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 3.2% in 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 buying an additional 188,888 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,542,550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193,769 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 354,196 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 39.7% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,565,398 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,005,264,000 after buying an additional 1,012,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 31,151.1% in 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 buying an additional 2,311,721 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the 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 directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,721.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % 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. 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 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,596 shares of company stock worth $10,698,289 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MCD. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.46.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD stock opened at $298.65 on Wednesday. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $299.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $277.00. The company has a market cap of $214.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.01 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.19 EPS. Equities analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.