Focused Investors LLC Decreases Position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Focused Investors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 433,500 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 8,000 shares during the quarter. McDonald's comprises about 4.0% of Focused Investors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Focused Investors LLC owned about 0.06% of McDonald's worth $132,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the second quarter valued at $6,612,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of McDonald's in the third quarter worth about $1,394,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 58.9% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 138,102 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $35,194,000 after purchasing an additional 51,210 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in McDonald's by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,186 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $14,978,000 after acquiring an additional 2,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. lifted its position in shares of McDonald's by 17.1% during the third quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 49,318 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $15,018,000 after buying an additional 7,200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MCD. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of McDonald's from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of McDonald's from $350.00 to $342.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $319.46.

Insider Transactions at McDonald's

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total transaction of $441,470.49. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $459,435.60. The trade was a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total value of $316,992.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. This represents a 8.03 % 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.

McDonald's Stock Performance

McDonald's stock traded down $5.93 during trading on Friday, reaching $292.63. The company had a trading volume of 4,039,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,976,190. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $300.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $277.46. McDonald's Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $317.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.70 billion, a PE ratio of 25.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.19 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that McDonald's Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is a boost from McDonald's's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald's's payout ratio is 58.65%.

About McDonald's

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.