Empower Advisory Group LLC Has $3.96 Million Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Empower Advisory Group LLC trimmed its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 17.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,997 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 2,657 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at $44,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at about $59,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Macroview Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 433.3% in the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 256 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 9,291 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $2,833,755.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 43,256 shares in the company, valued at $13,193,080. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at $14,966,996.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,596 shares of company stock valued at $10,698,289 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:MCD opened at $297.24 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $213.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.10, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $299.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $277.00. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.19 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 58.65%.

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.