Dover Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Dover Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 35.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,943 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,079 shares during the quarter. Dover Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Independent Wealth Network Inc. raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 863 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 1,374 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Unique Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 3,249 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $963,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Patron Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 5,158 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wagner Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 906 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MCD shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays reduced their price target on McDonald’s from $343.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $318.41.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE MCD traded down $2.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $273.09. 3,636,458 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,338,426. The company has a 50 day moving average of $281.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $281.96. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $245.73 and a 52-week high of $302.39. The firm has a market cap of $196.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 171.96% and a net margin of 33.22%. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.59 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.74%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,140,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.