Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Stock Holdings in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its holdings in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 18.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 160,484 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 35,154 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in McDonald's were worth $48,869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Claro Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 7.0% during the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 14,620 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $4,452,000 after buying an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA grew its stake in McDonald's by 12.1% in the third quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 8,489 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $2,585,000 after purchasing an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in McDonald's in the third quarter valued at approximately $58,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald's by 6.3% in the third quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 5,215 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,588,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BCGM Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald's by 6.6% in the third quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,818 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Trading Down 0.2 %

McDonald's stock traded down $0.54 on Tuesday, hitting $290.56. 1,210,702 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,496,159. McDonald's Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90. The firm has a market cap of $208.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.74. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $300.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $277.60.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.19 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that McDonald's Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald's Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from McDonald's's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald's's payout ratio is 62.16%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald's

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. The trade was a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total transaction of $428,967.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,721.60. This trade represents a 48.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,596 shares of company stock worth $10,698,289 in the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MCD. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of McDonald's from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Guggenheim downgraded McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald's in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on McDonald's from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Thirteen 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $319.46.

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.