Cornerstone Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Cornerstone Advisors LLC lessened its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 29,400 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $7,492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 141,160.9% during the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 5,613,710 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,664,521,000 after buying an additional 5,609,736 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,542,550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193,769 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the first quarter worth $348,206,000. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 39.7% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,565,398 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,005,264,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,347,048 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,178,474,000 after buying an additional 987,099 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MCD shares. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $275.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $290.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $305.37.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total transaction of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,721.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total transaction of $428,967.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $446,721.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,557,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,291 shares of company stock worth $1,689,073 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD stock opened at $296.53 on Monday. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $302.39. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $272.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $270.47. The company has a market capitalization of $213.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.17, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.72.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $6.49 billion for 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 business’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 56.71%.

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.