McDonald’s Corporation $MCD Stock Position Lessened by Banque Pictet & Cie SA

Banque Pictet & Cie SA decreased its position in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,566,124 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 11,925 shares during the period. McDonald’s accounts for 2.8% of Banque Pictet & Cie SA’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Banque Pictet & Cie SA owned 0.22% of McDonald’s worth $475,929,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,423 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC raised its stake in McDonald’s by 2.0% in the third quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 1,771 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC raised its stake in McDonald’s by 3.0% in the first quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC now owns 1,219 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.0% in the second quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 3,604 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,053,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbeam Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 3.2% during the second quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC now owns 1,112 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $335.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $324.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,486 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total value of $795,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,005,760. This trade represents a 28.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 6,567 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.50, for a total transaction of $2,006,218.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,407,133. The trade was a 58.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 42,516 shares of company stock valued at $13,036,090 in the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $305.65 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.08, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $307.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $304.21. McDonald’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $276.53 and a fifty-two 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 the consensus estimate of $3.33 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.10 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 280.89% and a net margin of 32.04%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $1.86 per share. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.48%.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is a global quick-service restaurant company best known for its hamburgers, French fries and breakfast offerings. The company develops, operates and franchises a system of restaurants that sell a range of food and beverage items, including signature products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, McCafé coffee beverages and a variety of salads, desserts and seasonal menu items. McDonald’s serves customers through company-operated restaurants and franchised locations, and it supports sales via dine-in, drive-thru, digital ordering platforms and third-party delivery partnerships.

Founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald as a single San Bernardino, California restaurant, the business was transformed into a franchising model after Ray Kroc joined in the mid-1950s and led the brand’s national and international expansion.