Taurus Asset Management LLC Acquires 504 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Taurus Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 68,555 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the period. McDonald’s makes up 2.0% of Taurus Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Taurus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $20,876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the second quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter worth approximately $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Down 2.0 %

McDonald’s stock opened at $292.63 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $209.70 billion, a PE ratio of 25.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $300.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $277.48. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 58.65%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total value of $316,992.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. This represents a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,966,996.55. This represents a 19.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,596 shares of company stock worth $10,698,289 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MCD. UBS Group increased their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.46.

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.