McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Stake Decreased by Bard Financial Services Inc.

Bard Financial Services Inc. reduced its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,410 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the period. McDonald’s makes up 2.1% of Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $17,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 434.3% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 3,227 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $809,000 after purchasing an additional 2,623 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 36,686 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $9,349,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 3,947 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,332 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $594,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, Corundum Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 51.6% in the 2nd quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 5,538 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,411,000 after acquiring an additional 1,886 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Argus raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.64.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total value of $441,470.49. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $459,435.60. This represents a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.57, for a total transaction of $328,128.43. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,484 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,428,777.88. The trade was a 8.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,099 shares of company stock worth $10,273,786 in the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $300.71 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $215.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.41, a PEG ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.73. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $299.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $280.30.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.19 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

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.