Strong Tower Advisory Services Has $2.08 Million Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Strong Tower Advisory Services raised its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 30.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,819 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Strong Tower Advisory Services’ holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Clear Street Markets LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth $119,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 610,866 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $181,128,000 after buying an additional 124,785 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 41,473 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $12,297,000 after purchasing an additional 6,711 shares during the period. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 141,160.9% during the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 5,613,710 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,664,521,000 after purchasing an additional 5,609,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC now owns 3,845 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,140,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $285,740.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,557,060. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction 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 $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 31,751 shares of company stock worth $9,493,973 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MCD shares. Barclays lowered their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.50.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $303.99. 426,264 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,369,699. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $289.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $272.42. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $306.96. The firm has a market cap of $218.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.60, a PEG ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73.

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

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 58.44%.

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.