Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Decreases Holdings in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. cut its stake in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 3.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,011 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 142 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First American Trust FSB raised its stake in McDonald’s by 55.9% during the 1st quarter. First American Trust FSB now owns 36,917 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $11,532,000 after buying an additional 13,234 shares during the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 58.0% during the 1st quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 248,826 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $71,829,000 after acquiring an additional 91,313 shares during the period. Hamilton Capital LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 35.2% during the 1st quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC now owns 3,145 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $982,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares during the period. Red Door Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,724 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,788,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 345,319 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $107,867,000 after acquiring an additional 18,393 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $297.07 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $211.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $306.31 and a 200 day moving average of $305.69. McDonald’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $276.53 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.04. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.21% and a negative return on equity of 225.52%. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.97 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 60.67%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $770,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,713,740. This represents a 22.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $310,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 99 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,690. This trade represents a 90.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,402 shares of company stock worth $1,973,407 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $324.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $325.18.

About McDonald’s

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.