Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 134 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 1.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,283 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 134 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,589,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,409,095 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $21,993,689,000 after acquiring an additional 239,753 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 16.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,341,460 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,917,993,000 after purchasing an additional 1,344,954 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.1% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,965,159 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,800,447,000 after purchasing an additional 97,966 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 2.5% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,142,473 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,606,354,000 after buying an additional 123,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 19.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,982,825 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,556,485,000 after buying an additional 815,768 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of MCD stock opened at $297.07 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $306.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $305.69. McDonald’s Corporation has a 12-month low of $276.53 and a 12-month high of $326.32. The firm has a market cap of $211.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.50.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.04. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.21% and a negative return on equity of 225.52%. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.97 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MCD shares. TD Cowen increased their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $325.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total transaction of $281,221.11. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,780,165.67. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $315,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 6,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,160,270. The trade was a 12.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,402 shares of company stock valued at $1,973,407 in the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.