China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 2,986 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. cut its stake in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 55.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,440 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 2,986 shares during the quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $713,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 142.9% during the 2nd quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 85 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, GFG Capital LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $316.84 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $225.64 billion, a PE ratio of 27.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $304.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $303.64. McDonald’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $276.53 and a 52-week high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.11). McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 280.89% and a net margin of 32.04%.The company had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a $1.86 dividend. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MCD shares. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $362.00 to $358.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $324.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 6,567 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.50, for a total transaction of $2,006,218.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,407,133. This represents a 58.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 3,195 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.82, for a total transaction of $977,094.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 6,088 shares in the company, valued at $1,861,832.16. This represents a 34.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,030 shares of company stock valued at $12,240,570. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by 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.