New Century Financial Group LLC Buys Shares of 1,455 McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 1,455 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $443,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 176 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $69,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total value of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. 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 can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’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 value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at $14,966,996.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,097 shares of company stock worth $10,221,233 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $316.56 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $294.62 and its 200-day moving average is $273.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.14 billion, a PE ratio of 26.87, a PEG ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.18.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly 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). 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 the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. 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 2.24%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 60.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MCD. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Argus raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $315.69.

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.