Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 340,550 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Renaissance Technologies LLC decreased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 96.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 13,661 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 340,550 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew 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 worth $1,664,521,000 after acquiring an additional 5,609,736 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 66.9% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,542,550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193,769 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the first quarter worth $348,206,000. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 39.7% in the first 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. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 15.5% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 987,099 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total value of $371,893.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $387,285.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 9,291 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,193,080. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total value of $371,893.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,285.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,249 shares of company stock valued at $9,865,866. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on McDonald’s from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on McDonald’s from $275.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $280.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.22.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $303.69 on Monday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $306.96. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $281.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $270.93. The company has a market capitalization of $218.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.72.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The company’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.17 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.71%.

About McDonald’s

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.