Blue Trust Inc. Boosts Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 34.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,558 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 4,721 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $5,651,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 32.3% during the first quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 176 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $285,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,557,060. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $727,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 2,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,550. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $285,740.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,557,060. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,221,233. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MCD. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Argus raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $315.69.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $316.53 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $294.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $273.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.17 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.10%.

About McDonald’s

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.