King Luther Capital Management Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

King Luther Capital Management Corp lowered its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,226 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 118 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $8,721,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 102.0% during the 1st quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 101 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 160.0% during the 2nd quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 117 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Worth Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 277.5% during the 2nd quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 151 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.60% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $279.03 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.70. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $245.73 and a 1 year high of $299.35. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $264.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $280.57.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 30th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.19. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 157.19% and a net margin of 33.31%. The business had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 30th. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.52. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.80%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 4,487 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.02, for a total transaction of $1,265,423.74. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,041,867.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 5,606 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $1,569,680.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 29,031 shares in the company, valued at $8,128,680. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 4,487 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.02, for a total value of $1,265,423.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,041,867.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,443 shares of company stock worth $5,863,300. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $330.00 in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Barclays cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $345.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Citigroup cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $317.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $316.66.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises McDonald's restaurants in the United States and internationally. The company's restaurants offer hamburgers and cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches and nuggets, fries, salads, shakes, frozen desserts, sundaes, soft serve cones, bakery items, soft drinks, coffee, and beverages and other beverages, as well as breakfast menu, including muffins, Sausages, biscuit and bagel sandwiches, oatmeal, hash browns, breakfast burritos and hotcakes.