Athena Investment Management Sells 200 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Athena Investment Management lowered its position in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 4.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Athena Investment Management’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 142.9% in the second quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 85 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, GFG Capital LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim raised their target price on McDonald’s from $295.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $320.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $381.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $324.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $315,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 6,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,160,270. This trade represents a 12.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 13,134 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.42, for a total transaction of $3,945,716.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,383,734.52. The trade was a 74.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 17,329 shares of company stock valued at $5,237,811 in the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $302.50 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $302.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $304.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $215.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.92, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.50. McDonald’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $276.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.11). McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.21% and a negative return on equity of 225.52%. The company had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a $1.86 dividend. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.48%.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.