IFM Investors Pty Ltd Grows Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 144,529 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,333 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $44,011,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cypress Wealth Services LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s by 31.6% during the 1st quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 24.5% in the 1st quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 5,517 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,085 shares during the period. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.8% during the first quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $663,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. grew its stake in McDonald’s by 15.3% in the first quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 3,329 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $886,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the period. Finally, S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 5.1% in the first quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 811 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MCD shares. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird lowered McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $318.22.

McDonald’s Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $301.61 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $296.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $274.51. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90. The firm has a market cap of $217.36 billion, a PE ratio of 25.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73.

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

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given 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 dividend yield of 2.35%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 60.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at $3,632,712.10. 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 available through this link. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.57, for a total transaction of $328,128.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,484 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,428,777.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 32,998 shares of company stock worth $9,935,493. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.