Hixon Zuercher LLC Raises Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Hixon Zuercher LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 16.3% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,526 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,896 shares during the quarter. Hixon Zuercher LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $288.00 to $278.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. 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 research report on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $290.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $303.71.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $288.66 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $302.39. The firm has a market cap of $207.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $265.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $271.00.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly 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). 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 analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.67 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 56.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $285,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,780 shares in the company, valued at $3,842,800. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $387,285.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $285,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,842,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,793 shares of company stock worth $1,260,106. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.