McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by Covington Investment Advisors Inc.

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,015 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 916 shares during the period. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $7,649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,612,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 58.9% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 138,102 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $35,194,000 after purchasing an additional 51,210 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 411.4% during the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 7,497 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,223,000 after purchasing an additional 6,031 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the first quarter valued at $7,898,000. Finally, First Long Island Investors LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC now owns 54,021 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $15,231,000 after purchasing an additional 7,707 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on MCD. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on McDonald’s from $275.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, July 29th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $308.22.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD stock opened at $303.69 on Monday. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $306.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.78, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $281.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $270.93.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 56.71%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 9,291 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $2,833,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,193,080. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 9,291 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $2,833,755.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,256 shares in the company, valued at $13,193,080. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total transaction of $371,893.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,285.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,249 shares of company stock worth $9,865,866 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.