Eagle Asset Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 15.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 563,777 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 73,362 shares during the period. McDonald’s makes up about 0.9% of Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Eagle Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of McDonald’s worth $168,552,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 3.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,567,030,000 after buying an additional 188,888 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,694,403,000 after acquiring an additional 49,106 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 8.0% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,216,677,000 after purchasing an additional 354,196 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 31,151.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $706,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,311,721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in McDonald’s by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,015,441 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $613,722,000 after purchasing an additional 22,780 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.46.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $288.32 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $299.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $277.91. 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 $206.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.31, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.19 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company 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 is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 58.65%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $446,721.60. This trade represents a 48.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total transaction of $321,325.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,036,366.30. The trade was a 9.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,498 shares of company stock worth $10,381,296. 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.