Cutler Investment Counsel LLC Decreases Position in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Key Points

• Cutler Investment Counsel LLC reduced its stake in McDonald's Corporation by 3.0%, holding 53,286 shares valued at approximately $16.6 million.
• Insider sales included CMO Edith Morgan Flatley, who sold 1,000 shares for $300,000, which represents a 10.14% decrease in her position.
• McDonald's declared a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.34%, slated for payment on September 16th.

Cutler Investment Counsel LLC decreased its holdings in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,286 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 1,648 shares during the period. McDonald's accounts for approximately 2.0% of Cutler Investment Counsel LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $16,645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Red Door Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in McDonald's by 1.9% during the first quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,724 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,788,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Aviva PLC lifted its position in McDonald's by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 432,406 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $125,350,000 after purchasing an additional 23,024 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in McDonald's by 5.6% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 345,319 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $107,867,000 after purchasing an additional 18,393 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in McDonald's by 22.9% in the 1st quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 17,226 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $5,381,000 after purchasing an additional 3,212 shares during the period. Finally, Segment Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald's by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 54,672 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $17,078,000 after buying an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at McDonald's

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total value of $281,221.11. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,780,165.67. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 8,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,657,400. This trade represents a 10.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,817 shares of company stock valued at $1,147,992 in the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald's Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD traded up $2.81 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $302.88. 3,324,992 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,321,008. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $299.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $303.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.73, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.52. McDonald's Corporation has a twelve month low of $265.33 and a twelve month high of $326.32.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.75% and a negative return on equity of 195.27%. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.70 EPS. The business's revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of McDonald's from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Northcoast Research lowered shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of McDonald's from $347.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Melius initiated coverage on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of McDonald's from $324.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $323.39.

About McDonald's

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.