Westend Capital Management LLC Raises Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Westend Capital Management LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 365 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Westend Capital Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Mechanics Bank Trust Department increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% during the third quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 34,959 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $10,645,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Montis Financial LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth $391,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 171,966 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $52,365,000 after purchasing an additional 8,136 shares in the last quarter. Code Waechter LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth $300,000. Finally, Atwater Malick LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Atwater Malick LLC now owns 38,448 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $11,708,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on MCD. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.50.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $305.04 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $306.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.82 billion, a PE ratio of 26.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $290.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $272.56.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.71 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 58.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at $14,966,996.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 9,291 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $2,833,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,193,080. 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 accessible through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at $14,966,996.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,751 shares of company stock valued at $9,493,973. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s 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.