Quadrature Capital Ltd Reduces Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Quadrature Capital Ltd trimmed its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 52.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,083 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 35,552 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $9,045,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at $305,000. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 8,440 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,503,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 17,194 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $5,098,000 after buying an additional 1,480 shares during the period. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 1,356 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 127.7% in the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 29,536 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $8,758,000 after buying an additional 16,562 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Price Performance

McDonald’s stock traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $252.00. The company had a trading volume of 4,002,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,836,478. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $302.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $255.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.67. The firm has a market cap of $181.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 180.74% and a net margin of 33.36%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.05 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $285,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,557,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other McDonald’s news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.02, for a total value of $220,016.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19 shares in the company, valued at $5,225.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $285,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,557,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,454,507 over the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on MCD. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $297.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $288.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $308.57.

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.