McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Purchased by Viking Fund Management LLC

Viking Fund Management LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 25.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,000 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $6,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sunflower Bank N.A. grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 4.4% during the third quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 1,120 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 187,380 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $57,059,000 after purchasing an additional 2,262 shares during the last quarter. Willner & Heller LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 1,692 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,148 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,481,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shira Ridge Wealth Management acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the third quarter worth about $203,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at $3,632,712.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related 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 transaction of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $285,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,681 shares in the company, valued at $3,557,060. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,751 shares of company stock valued at $9,493,973. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on MCD shares. Guggenheim increased their target price on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. KeyCorp raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.50.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE MCD traded up $1.00 on Friday, hitting $305.04. 1,775,710 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,376,543. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $306.96. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $290.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $272.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.71 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued 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 is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 58.44%.

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.