Ethos Financial Group LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Ethos Financial Group LLC reduced its stake in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,003 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 235 shares during the quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the first quarter worth about $26,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, 1248 Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MCD. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Thursday. Melius started coverage on McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They set a “sell” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.91.

McDonald’s Stock Down 2.4%

MCD opened at $298.36 on Friday. McDonald’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $276.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $304.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $305.20. The firm has a market cap of $212.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.50.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.10 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 225.52% and a net margin of 32.21%.The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a $1.86 dividend. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.48%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $315,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 6,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,160,270. This represents a 12.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $310,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 99 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,690. This represents a 90.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.