Safir Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $218,000 in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Safir Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 715 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000. McDonald’s accounts for 0.2% of Safir Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Keener Financial Planning LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 32.3% during the first quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 176 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,751 shares of company stock valued at $9,493,973 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of MCD stock traded up $1.54 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $303.44. 541,540 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,386,310. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $288.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $271.98. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $306.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.68 billion, a PE ratio of 25.63, a PEG ratio of 3.99 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). The business had revenue of $6.49 billion during 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%. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.17 EPS. Research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 60.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MCD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.12.

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.