McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by CENTRAL TRUST Co

CENTRAL TRUST Co reduced its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 96,591 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 3,167 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $29,413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $469,000. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Romano Brothers AND Company grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.7% in the third quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 11,237 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,422,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. lifted its position in McDonald’s by 4.6% during the third quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 3,468 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,056,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lifted its position in McDonald’s by 1.8% during the third quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 5,127 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,561,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Argus raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Baird R W cut shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.22.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were 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 owns 2,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,550. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $727,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 2,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $900,550. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,632,712.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 32,998 shares of company stock worth $9,935,493. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

McDonald’s stock opened at $298.75 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $296.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $274.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 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.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The firm’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.17 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.71 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.10%.

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.