Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 1,570 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Fisher Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 0.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 290,301 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,570 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $84,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 3,630 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. WealthTrust Axiom LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.8% in the first quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 1,946 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $608,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Certior Financial Group LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s by 2.6% in the first quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC now owns 1,367 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC now owns 1,219 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 3,604 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MCD shares. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. BTIG Research reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $322.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $362.00 to $358.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $324.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald’s news, CFO Ian Frederick Borden sold 17,134 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $5,311,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,169,430. This trade represents a 39.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 3,195 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.82, for a total transaction of $977,094.90. Following the sale, the insider owned 6,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,861,832.16. The trade was a 34.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,463 shares of company stock worth $10,234,351. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $303.55 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $216.18 billion, a PE ratio of 26.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.50. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $276.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $303.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $304.08.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 225.52% and a net margin of 32.21%.The firm had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.