McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Purchased by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 188,888 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.85% of McDonald’s worth $1,567,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Concentric Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Concentric Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,551 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $756,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,268 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.3% in the first quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,833 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $799,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. grew its position in McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 4,378 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,234,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its stake in McDonald’s by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,913 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $821,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MCD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on McDonald’s from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $308.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total value of $371,893.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $387,285.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total value of $371,893.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,285.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total value of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,958 shares of company stock valued at $7,032,111 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of MCD stock opened at $303.65 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $217.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.72. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $304.29. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $280.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $271.12.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its 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). The business had revenue of $6.49 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.17 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.69 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $1.77 dividend. This is an increase 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 56.71%.

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.