Sowell Financial Services LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in McDonald's Corporation $MCD

Key Points

• Sowell Financial Services LLC reduced its stake in McDonald's Corporation by 3.8%, owning 23,164 shares valued at approximately $6.77 million after selling 919 shares during the second quarter.
• McDonald's reported a quarterly earnings per share of $3.19, exceeding estimates, with revenues of $6.84 billion, marking a 5.4% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.77, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 2.3%, with a payout ratio of 60.67%.

Sowell Financial Services LLC trimmed its position in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 3.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,164 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 919 shares during the quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $6,768,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in McDonald's during the 1st quarter worth $1,324,961,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 39,039.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,497,919 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,092,645,000 after acquiring an additional 3,488,982 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,341,460 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $2,917,993,000 after acquiring an additional 1,344,954 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,982,825 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,556,485,000 after acquiring an additional 815,768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in McDonald's during the 4th quarter worth $211,824,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald's Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $302.30 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $306.06 and a 200 day moving average of $306.44. The stock has a market cap of $215.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.50. McDonald's Corporation has a 12 month low of $276.53 and a 12 month high of $326.32.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.04. The company 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%. McDonald's's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.97 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is 60.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MCD. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of McDonald's from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Redburn Atlantic reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $260.00 price target (down from $319.00) on shares of McDonald's in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of McDonald's from $373.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of McDonald's from $324.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $325.86.

Insider Activity at McDonald's

In related news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $310,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 99 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,690. This represents a 90.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the company'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 transaction of $315,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 6,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,160,270. This trade represents a 12.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,341 shares of company stock valued at $2,544,327 in the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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