McDonald’s Corporation $MCD Shares Sold by Sonata Capital Group Inc.

Sonata Capital Group Inc. decreased its position in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 28.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,253 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Sonata Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MCD. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 1st 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. Security Financial Services INC. grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.3% during the first quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 11,588 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,620,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Platform Technology Partners lifted its position in McDonald’s by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 8,617 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,692,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alexander Labrunerie & CO. Inc. increased its position in McDonald’s by 3.4% in the first quarter. Alexander Labrunerie & CO. Inc. now owns 1,070 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $315,000.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 6,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,160,270. This represents a 12.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $770,970.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,713,740. This represents a 22.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,463 shares of company stock worth $1,692,186. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $310.01 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $306.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $305.51. The stock has a market cap of $221.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.50. McDonald’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $276.53 and a 52-week high of $326.32.

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

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 60.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on MCD shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on McDonald’s from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $350.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $324.50.

McDonald’s 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.