Smith Thornton Advisors LLC Makes New $431,000 Investment in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Smith Thornton Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,690 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $431,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in McDonald’s in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Clear Investment Research LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at $38,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD opened at $303.65 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $217.82 billion, a PE ratio of 25.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $280.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $271.12. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $304.29.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The company had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 at the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total transaction of $371,893.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $387,285.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,958 shares of company stock valued at $7,032,111. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MCD. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has a consensus 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.