United Advisor Group LLC Grows Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

United Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,778 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 295 shares during the period. United Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $846,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,612,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 51,210 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 6.5% in 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. First Financial Bankshares Inc increased its stake in McDonald’s by 11.7% during the third quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 313,961 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $95,604,000 after acquiring an additional 32,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Long Island Investors LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 16.6% during the first quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC now owns 54,021 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $15,231,000 after acquiring an additional 7,707 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total transaction of $441,470.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $459,435.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total value of $441,470.49. Following 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total transaction of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $446,721.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,596 shares of company stock valued at $10,698,289 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Robert W. Baird cut McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $320.00 to $290.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Thirteen 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.46.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $297.19 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $298.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $276.23. 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 $213.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.09, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 negative return on equity of 178.99% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.19 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.65%.

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.