Synovus Financial Corp Sells 3,886 Shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Synovus Financial Corp trimmed its stake in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 3.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 103,779 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 3,886 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in McDonald's were worth $31,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in McDonald's by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $4,833,510,000 after purchasing an additional 220,365 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of McDonald's by 0.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,082,894 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $4,592,892,000 after buying an additional 128,800 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in McDonald's by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,567,030,000 after buying an additional 188,888 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in McDonald's by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,694,403,000 after acquiring an additional 49,106 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in McDonald's by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,216,677,000 after acquiring an additional 354,196 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MCD shares. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of McDonald's from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Argus raised shares of McDonald's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on McDonald's from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Twelve equities research 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 has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $320.50.

Insider Transactions at McDonald's

In other McDonald's news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total value of $441,470.49. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $459,435.60. The trade was a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at $14,966,996.55. This represents a 19.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,099 shares of company stock valued at $10,273,786 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $297.10. The company had a trading volume of 1,676,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,463,093. The company has a market capitalization of $212.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.03, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $299.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $280.82. McDonald's Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.19 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald's Co. will post 11.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Increases Dividend

The company 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 $1.77 dividend. This is a positive change from McDonald's's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.