775 Shares in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Bought by Wills Financial Group Inc.

Wills Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 775 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth about $1,394,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,612,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,694,403,000 after buying an additional 49,106 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $35,194,000 after buying an additional 51,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $14,978,000 after acquiring an additional 2,997 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $299.58 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $299.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $279.58. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $317.90. The firm has a market cap of $214.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.30, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.73.

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

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.16%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.57, for a total transaction of $328,128.43. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,484 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,428,777.88. The trade was a 8.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total value of $441,470.49. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $459,435.60. This represents a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,099 shares of company stock valued at $10,273,786 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on MCD. 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. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.64.

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.