Audent Global Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Audent Global Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 72.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,270 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 3,352 shares during the period. Audent Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the second quarter worth $75,000. Olistico Wealth LLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC now owns 4,107 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Somerset Trust Co increased its position in McDonald’s by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 17,275 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,402,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 5,660 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the period. Finally, Praetorian Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $251,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MCD shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Baird R W downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Argus raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $727,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 2,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,550. This represents a 44.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total value of $321,457.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,716,155. This represents a 10.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,597 shares of company stock worth $10,702,754. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $296.01 on Monday. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $299.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $279.04. The firm has a market cap of $212.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.19 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 dividend of $1.77 per share. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.