Avitas Wealth Management LLC Buys 270 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Avitas Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 21,533 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. McDonald’s makes up about 0.9% of Avitas Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Avitas Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $6,557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MCD. Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s by 7.0% during the third quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,754 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 9.0% in the third quarter. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC now owns 2,344 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $714,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,869 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,051,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its stake in McDonald’s by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 15,819 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,817,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 46,360 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $14,117,000 after acquiring an additional 783 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $295.03 on Wednesday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.64 billion, a PE ratio of 25.81, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $298.15 and its 200-day moving average is $275.35.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 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 company had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction, the insider now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,632,712.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 sold 34,097 shares of company stock worth $10,256,818 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MCD shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Robert W. Baird downgraded McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $318.22.

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.