Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. has decreased its holdings in McDonald's Corporation by 49.3%, now owning 2,122 shares valued at $663,000.
• Analyst ratings for McDonald's show a mixed outlook, with some increasing price targets, such as JPMorgan raising it to $310.00, while others, like Redburn Atlantic, have downgraded their rating.
• McDonald's recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, representing a 2.3% yield, and will be disbursed to shareholders on September 16th.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 49.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,122 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 2,061 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s holdings in McDonald's were worth $663,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MCD. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald's in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald's in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in McDonald's during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald's during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Redburn Atlantic reissued a "sell" rating and set a $260.00 target price (down from $319.00) on shares of McDonald's in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Loop Capital lowered shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $346.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Melius began coverage on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Argus lowered shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $326.87.

McDonald's Stock Down 0.7%

MCD traded down $2.29 during trading on Friday, hitting $305.62. 2,621,959 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,681,905. The firm has a market cap of $218.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.52. McDonald's Corporation has a one year low of $265.33 and a one year high of $326.32. The stock's fifty day moving average is $298.57 and its 200 day moving average is $304.49.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.97 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given 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 is Tuesday, September 2nd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the firm'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 value of $300,000.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 8,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,657,400. This trade represents a 10.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $281,221.11. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,283 shares in the company, valued at $2,780,165.67. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,280 shares of company stock worth $2,215,178. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.