River Street Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

River Street Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,369 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. River Street Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,743 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $5,403,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the period. LJI Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $209,000. Heritage Investment Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $503,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 638,683 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $194,485,000 after purchasing an additional 120,678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Koa Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $202,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Guggenheim lowered shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.46.

McDonald’s Stock Down 2.0 %

NYSE MCD traded down $5.93 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $292.63. 4,039,432 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,509,453. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $317.90. The firm has a market cap of $209.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50 day moving average of $300.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $277.42.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. This is an increase 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 58.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $3,518,451.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 19.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $727,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 2,905 shares in the company, valued at $900,550. This trade represents a 44.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,596 shares of company stock valued at $10,698,289. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.