Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,719 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Concentric Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Concentric Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,551 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,268 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,833 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $799,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its position in McDonald’s by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,913 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $821,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total transaction of $371,893.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,285.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,285.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $316,992.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,193 shares of company stock worth $1,403,593 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MCD shares. Barclays dropped 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. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $288.00 to $278.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, TD Cowen cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $285.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $306.11.

McDonald’s Price Performance

McDonald’s stock opened at $293.85 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $276.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $270.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.72. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.17 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.71%.

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.