Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 1,900 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Natixis Advisors LLC lessened its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 518,005 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,900 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $132,008,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,049,310 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $20,473,811,000 after buying an additional 599,745 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,684,899,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in McDonald’s by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,347,048 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,178,474,000 after purchasing an additional 987,099 shares during the period. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 141,160.9% during the 4th quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 5,613,710 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,664,521,000 after purchasing an additional 5,609,736 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,193,769 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $285,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,842,800. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total transaction of $371,893.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $387,285.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $285,480.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,842,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,793 shares of company stock valued at $1,260,106 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on MCD shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on McDonald’s from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $303.71.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

McDonald’s stock traded up $0.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $288.66. 2,528,549 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,381,473. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $302.39. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $265.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $270.88. The firm has a market cap of $207.07 billion, a PE ratio of 24.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.67 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 56.71%.

McDonald’s Company 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.