Hancock Whitney Corp Sells 392 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Hancock Whitney Corp lowered its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,782 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 392 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 3.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,567,030,000 after buying an additional 188,888 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,694,403,000 after purchasing an additional 49,106 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in McDonald’s by 8.0% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,216,677,000 after purchasing an additional 354,196 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 31,151.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $706,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,311,721 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.1% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,015,441 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $613,722,000 after purchasing an additional 22,780 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $296.15 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $299.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $278.40. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90. The company has a market capitalization of $212.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 58.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird downgraded McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $320.00 to $290.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.46.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.57, for a total value of $328,128.43. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,484 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,428,777.88. This represents a 8.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,721.60. The trade was a 48.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,498 shares of company stock valued at $10,381,296. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Profile

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.