Courier Capital LLC Boosts Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Courier Capital LLC raised its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 7.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,932 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 878 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in McDonald’s by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,567,030,000 after buying an additional 188,888 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in McDonald’s by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,542,550,000 after buying an additional 2,193,769 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in McDonald’s by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,216,677,000 after buying an additional 354,196 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in McDonald’s by 39.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,565,398 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,005,264,000 after buying an additional 1,012,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.4% during the first quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 2,273,354 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $640,972,000 after purchasing an additional 8,475 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.57, for a total transaction of $328,128.43. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,484 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,428,777.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,998 shares of company stock worth $9,935,493. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $298.75 on Thursday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.30 billion, a PE ratio of 25.36, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $296.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $274.51.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.17 EPS. McDonald’s’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on MCD. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Guggenheim cut shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $318.22.

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.