Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Purchases 782 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,504 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 782 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,199,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,612,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 58.9% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 138,102 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $35,194,000 after purchasing an additional 51,210 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 6.5% during the third quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,186 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $14,978,000 after purchasing an additional 2,997 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 11.7% during the third quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 313,961 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $95,604,000 after purchasing an additional 32,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Long Island Investors LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC now owns 54,021 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $15,231,000 after purchasing an additional 7,707 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird downgraded McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $320.00 to $290.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.46.

McDonald’s Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $295.21 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $298.36 and a 200 day moving average of $275.86.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 178.99%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.19 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.65%.

Insider Activity

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total value of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,256,818 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Company 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.