Mach 1 Financial Group LLC Cuts Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Mach 1 Financial Group LLC cut its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 47.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,854 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 6,086 shares during the quarter. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,032,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 51.9% in the third quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on MCD shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price target on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, March 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $317.67.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD stock traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $273.07. The company had a trading volume of 6,893,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,313,933. The company has a market capitalization of $196.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $280.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $282.33. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $245.73 and a fifty-two week high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.22% and a negative return on equity of 171.96%. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.63 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 57.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.