Verus Capital Partners LLC Sells 735 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Verus Capital Partners LLC lessened its stake in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,827 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 735 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $298.99 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $304.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $304.82. McDonald’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $276.53 and a 52-week high of $326.32. The stock has a market cap of $212.93 billion, a PE ratio of 25.62, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.50.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.11). McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.21% and a negative return on equity of 225.52%. The company had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.10 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $381.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Melius started coverage on McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They set a “sell” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $323.91.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $315,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 6,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,160,270. This trade represents a 12.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $310,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 99 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,690. The trade was a 90.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 15,134 shares of company stock valued at $4,570,716 in the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.