Empower Advisory Group LLC Sells 2,657 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Empower Advisory Group LLC lessened its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 17.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,997 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 2,657 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.4% in the third quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 1,422 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.0% in the third quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.0% in the third quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,472 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,057,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.8% during the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, GDS Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.4% during the third quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 2,504 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were 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 owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $446,721.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were 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 approximately $3,632,712.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 35,596 shares of company stock valued at $10,698,289. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.5 %

MCD stock opened at $297.24 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $299.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $277.00. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its 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 business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the subject of several research reports. Argus upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.46.

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.