Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. Sells 1,500 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. decreased its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 37.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,462 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the period. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $749,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 32.3% in the first quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 176 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the second quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the second quarter worth about $65,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Argus raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $315.69.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD traded up $1.86 during trading on Friday, hitting $316.56. 2,531,197 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,356,786. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.18. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $294.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $273.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.14 billion, a PE ratio of 26.87, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.17 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total value of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,632,712.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,721.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,221,233. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About McDonald’s

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.