Sivia Capital Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Sivia Capital Partners LLC reduced its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 24.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,588 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 521 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jensen Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 51.8% during the 2nd quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 654,925 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $166,901,000 after acquiring an additional 223,563 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its position in McDonald’s by 0.5% during the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 72,605 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $18,503,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 1.0% during the second quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 14,758 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,761,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,339 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP now owns 688 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $175,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on MCD shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Citigroup dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $303.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total transaction of $371,893.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $387,285.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $285,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,842,800. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total value of $371,893.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $387,285.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,291 shares of company stock valued at $1,689,073. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $289.58 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $208.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.72. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $302.39. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $268.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $270.91.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The company’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.17 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 56.71%.

McDonald’s Company 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.