QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $15.46 Million Stake in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

QRG Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 50,888 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 4,677 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $15,464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rather & Kittrell Inc. grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. now owns 1,506 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Retirement Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 7.8% in the third quarter. Retirement Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,050 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 11.0% in the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 11,364 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,453,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. increased its stake in McDonald’s by 5.5% in the third quarter. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. now owns 5,764 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,752,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 3.4% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,328 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 6,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,407,133. This represents a 58.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 2,626 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.58, for a total value of $805,079.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,654,918.84. The trade was a 32.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,142 shares of company stock worth $13,841,169. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD opened at $307.53 on Friday. McDonald’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $278.73 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $308.76 and a 200 day moving average of $305.43. The firm has a market cap of $219.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.53.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.11). The firm 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 63.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “overweight” rating and set a $372.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on McDonald’s from $322.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $358.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $328.88.

McDonald’s 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.