McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by Maple Capital Management Inc.

Maple Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 21.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,627 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 457 shares during the quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 66.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,542,550,000 after buying an additional 2,193,769 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $348,206,000. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 39.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,565,398 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,005,264,000 after buying an additional 1,012,534 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $110,321,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 56.2% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,123,132 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $308,878,000 after buying an additional 403,958 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $313.99 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.29 billion, a PE ratio of 26.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $295.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $274.01. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.17 earnings per share. Analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 60.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MCD shares. KeyCorp increased their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $318.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $727,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 2,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $900,550. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,998 shares of company stock worth $9,935,493 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.