Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC Cuts Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 35.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,867 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,550 shares during the period. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MCD. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter worth $44,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at $58,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter worth about $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 2,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,550. The trade was a 44.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $441,470.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $459,435.60. This trade represents a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,596 shares of company stock worth $10,698,289 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Argus upgraded McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.46.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $291.10 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $208.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.56, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $300.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $277.60. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is a boost 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 2.43%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.16%.

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.