Diversified LLC Acquires 91 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Diversified LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,114 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the quarter. Diversified LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $948,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 10.4% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $848,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its position in McDonald’s by 22.5% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 2,083 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $587,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 40.0% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 43.4% in the first quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,075 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $867,000 after purchasing an additional 931 shares during the period. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 161.3% in the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 14,438 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,071,000 after purchasing an additional 8,912 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total transaction of $428,967.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,721.60. This trade represents a 48.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total value of $321,325.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,036,366.30. This trade represents a 9.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,498 shares of company stock worth $10,381,296. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of MCD stock opened at $292.25 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $299.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $278.20. The firm has a market cap of $209.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90.

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

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI raised their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.46.

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.