McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Stake Lifted by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 98,748 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 2,690 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $30,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at $6,612,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 58.9% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 138,102 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $35,194,000 after acquiring an additional 51,210 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,186 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $14,978,000 after purchasing an additional 2,997 shares during the period. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,898,000. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc grew its stake in McDonald’s by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 313,961 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $95,604,000 after acquiring an additional 32,890 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MCD shares. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.46.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD opened at $292.17 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90. The company has a market capitalization of $209.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $298.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $275.58.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.99% 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 in the prior year, the company posted $3.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.78 EPS 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 given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This is an increase 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 yield of 2.42%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 58.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total value of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $727,260.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 2,905 shares in the company, valued at $900,550. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was 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 $3,632,712.10. This represents 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 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.