Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Grows Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 129,073 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,328 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $32,894,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at $6,612,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 51,210 shares in the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 411.4% in the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 7,497 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,223,000 after buying an additional 6,031 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the first quarter valued at $7,898,000. Finally, First Long Island Investors LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 16.6% in the first quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC now owns 54,021 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $15,231,000 after buying an additional 7,707 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of McDonald’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 transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of McDonald’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 transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total value of $371,893.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $387,285.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,249 shares of company stock worth $9,865,866 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $304.37 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $219.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.72. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $306.96. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $282.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $271.09.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.17 earnings per share. Analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on MCD. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on McDonald’s from $288.00 to $278.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $280.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $308.22.

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.