McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by Baxter Bros Inc.

Baxter Bros Inc. trimmed its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 14.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,241 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 2,335 shares during the period. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $4,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 1.7% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 381,887 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $116,289,000 after purchasing an additional 6,201 shares in the last quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 1.1% during the third quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,594 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 11.3% during the third quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,279 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $998,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 10.9% during the third quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC now owns 68,922 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $20,988,000 after purchasing an additional 6,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 5.7% during the third quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.57, for a total transaction of $328,128.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,484 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,428,777.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total value of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 34,097 shares of company stock worth $10,256,818. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $295.21 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $298.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $275.86. The firm has a market cap of $211.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.92, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.99% and a net margin of 31.79%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.19 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 58.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup upped their price target on McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.