Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 6,558 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 8.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,038 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 6,558 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $22,241,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at about $6,612,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 58.9% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 138,102 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $35,194,000 after purchasing an additional 51,210 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the first quarter valued at about $7,898,000. First Long Island Investors LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 16.6% during the first quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC now owns 54,021 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $15,231,000 after purchasing an additional 7,707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 504.6% during the first quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. now owns 9,165 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,584,000 after purchasing an additional 7,649 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $315.69.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of MCD stock traded up $1.86 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $316.56. The stock had a trading volume of 2,531,197 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,356,786. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $294.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $273.73. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.14 billion, a PE ratio of 26.87, a PEG ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The company had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 60.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $285,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,681 shares in the company, valued at $3,557,060. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total value of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,557,060. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,097 shares of company stock worth $10,221,233 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is 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.