Wedbush Securities Inc. Sells 1,758 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Wedbush Securities Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 6.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,393 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,758 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $7,419,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. First American Trust FSB lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 55.9% during the first quarter. First American Trust FSB now owns 36,917 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $11,532,000 after purchasing an additional 13,234 shares during the period. Banque Transatlantique SA grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 58.0% in the 1st quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 248,826 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $71,829,000 after purchasing an additional 91,313 shares during the period. Hamilton Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 35.2% in the 1st quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC now owns 3,145 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $982,000 after buying an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Welch Group LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 206,004 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $60,188,000 after buying an additional 2,180 shares during the period. Finally, Graybill Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the 1st quarter valued at $564,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on MCD shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 10th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $381.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $323.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald’s news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $315,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 6,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,160,270. This represents a 12.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $310,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 99 shares in the company, valued at $30,690. The trade was a 90.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 15,134 shares of company stock worth $4,570,716 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $299.71 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $304.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $305.13. The company has a market cap of $213.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.50. McDonald’s Corporation has a 12-month low of $276.53 and a 12-month high of $326.32.

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

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

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

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.