Ascent Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 4.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,901 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 881 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $5,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Concentric Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Concentric Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,551 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $756,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,268 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 1.3% during the first quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,833 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $799,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its stake in McDonald’s by 1.3% during the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,913 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $821,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weatherly Asset Management L. P. increased its stake in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the first quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 4,378 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,234,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MCD shares. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America lowered their target price on McDonald’s from $288.00 to $278.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $308.22.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE:MCD opened at $303.69 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $281.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $271.02. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $306.96. The company has a market cap of $218.86 billion, a PE ratio of 25.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.72.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.17 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 9,291 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $2,833,755.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,193,080. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at $14,966,996.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,249 shares of company stock valued at $9,865,866. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.