Highland Capital Management LLC Sells 2,860 Shares of McDonald's Corporation $MCD

Key Points

• Highland Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in McDonald's Corporation by 38.7%, selling 2,860 shares, leaving it with a total of 4,533 shares valued at approximately $1.32 million.
• Analysts have mixed outlooks for McDonald's with price targets ranging from $322.00 to $360.00, while the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $325.86.
• McDonald's reported earnings of $3.19 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, alongside a revenue of $6.84 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 5.4%.

Highland Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 38.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,533 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 2,860 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $1,324,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald's in the first quarter valued at $26,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the first quarter worth $26,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald's in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in McDonald's during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of McDonald's from $327.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on McDonald's from $324.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays increased their target price on McDonald's from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $325.86.

McDonald's Price Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $300.72 on Monday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $306.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $306.15. McDonald's Corporation has a one year low of $276.53 and a one year high of $326.32. The company has a market cap of $214.59 billion, a PE ratio of 25.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.50.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.68 billion. McDonald's had a net margin of 32.21% and a negative return on equity of 225.52%. The company's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.97 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. McDonald's's payout ratio is 60.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $770,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,713,740. This represents a 22.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $315,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 6,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,160,270. This represents a 12.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,402 shares of company stock worth $2,273,407. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Company Profile

McDonald's Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.

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