Highland Capital Management LLC Sells 2,860 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Highland Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 38.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,533 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 2,860 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% during the first quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 3,630 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,793 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,334 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Security Financial Services INC. raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.7% during the first quarter. Security Financial Services INC. now owns 5,043 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,575,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stockman Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.8% in the first quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,964 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $613,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of MCD stock opened at $300.72 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $214.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.77, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $306.93 and a 200-day moving average of $306.15. McDonald’s Corporation has a 12-month low of $276.53 and a 12-month high of $326.32.

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

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.67%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $315,000.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 6,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,160,270. This represents a 12.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $770,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,713,740. This trade represents a 22.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,402 shares of company stock valued at $2,273,407. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MCD shares. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Bank of America cut their target price on McDonald’s from $327.00 to $322.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays increased their price target on McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $325.86.

About McDonald’s

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.