German American Bancorp Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

German American Bancorp Inc. reduced its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 7.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,645 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. German American Bancorp Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at about $1,394,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,612,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 58.9% in the 2nd 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 during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,186 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $14,978,000 after purchasing an additional 2,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 17.1% in the third quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 49,318 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $15,018,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $290.89 on Thursday. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90. The firm has a market cap of $208.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.54, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $300.06 and a 200 day moving average of $277.84.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.19 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, October 18th. Baird R W lowered shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Guggenheim cut shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.46.

Insider Activity

In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 19.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $446,721.60. The trade was a 48.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,596 shares of company stock valued at $10,698,289 in the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.