Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Decreases Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management reduced its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,110 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 587 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Independent Wealth Network Inc. grew its stake in McDonald’s by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 863 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 1,374 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 5,331 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,581,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Unique Wealth LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 3,249 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $963,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patron Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 5,158 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,529,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at $4,696,517.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD traded down $2.31 on Tuesday, reaching $266.99. 3,159,583 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,309,868. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $245.73 and a twelve month high of $302.39. The stock has a market cap of $192.50 billion, a PE ratio of 22.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $278.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $282.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 180.54% and a net margin of 33.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 56.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $325.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. BTIG Research cut shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, March 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $317.74.

McDonald’s Profile

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.