McDonald's Corporation $MCD Shares Sold by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC reduced its stake in McDonald's Corporation by 13.8%, selling 11,733 shares, leaving them with 73,139 shares valued at approximately $22.8 million.
• McDonald's recently declared a $1.77 quarterly dividend, representing an annualized dividend of $7.08 with a yield of 2.3%, scheduled for payment on September 16th.
• Several institutional investors increased their stakes in McDonald's, with Goldman Sachs Group increasing theirs by 19.6% in the first quarter, highlighting ongoing investor interest in the company.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC reduced its position in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 13.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,139 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 11,733 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $22,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of McDonald's by 84.3% during the first quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 13,954 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $4,359,000 after buying an additional 6,384 shares during the last quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald's during the 1st quarter valued at $621,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its position in McDonald's by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 314,415 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $98,214,000 after acquiring an additional 34,149 shares in the last quarter. Holderness Investments Co. boosted its position in McDonald's by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Holderness Investments Co. now owns 13,308 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $4,157,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Money Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. American Money Management LLC now owns 21,382 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $6,679,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on McDonald's from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised McDonald's from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $345.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Northcoast Research downgraded McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on McDonald's from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald's presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $326.87.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $770,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,713,740. This represents a 22.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total transaction of $281,221.11. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,283 shares in the company, valued at $2,780,165.67. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 7,280 shares of company stock valued at $2,215,178. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Stock Up 0.5%

MCD traded up $1.6680 on Tuesday, reaching $310.3680. The company had a trading volume of 1,772,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,600,846. McDonald's Corporation has a 1 year low of $276.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.48 billion, a PE ratio of 26.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $298.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $305.31.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.04. McDonald's had a net margin of 32.21% and a negative return on equity of 225.52%. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.97 earnings per share. McDonald's's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.67%.

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.