LS Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

LS Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 45.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,128 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 5,045 shares during the quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at $59,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Macroview Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 433.3% during the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 256 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,721.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $446,721.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total value of $441,470.49. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $459,435.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,596 shares of company stock worth $10,698,289 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $294.68 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90. The business’s fifty day moving average is $298.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $276.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.99% and a net margin of 31.79%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.19 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $1.77 dividend. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the subject of a number of research reports. KeyCorp lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.46.

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.