Semus Wealth Partners LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Semus Wealth Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,733 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 72 shares during the period. Semus Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $832,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MCD. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 10.4% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $848,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 9.3% in the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,653 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.5% in the first quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 7,897 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,226,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. PYA Waltman Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.6% in the first quarter. PYA Waltman Capital LLC now owns 3,732 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the first quarter valued at $33,045,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $446,721.60. This represents a 48.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value 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 approximately $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 19.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,596 shares of company stock worth $10,698,289 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird cut McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Baird R W downgraded McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.46.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of MCD stock opened at $292.84 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $209.86 billion, a PE ratio of 25.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $317.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $300.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $277.48.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 58.65%.

McDonald’s Company 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.