Valicenti Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Valicenti Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 27.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,679 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,547 shares during the quarter. Valicenti Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,556,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the second quarter worth $6,612,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 58.9% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 138,102 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $35,194,000 after acquiring an additional 51,210 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 6.5% in the third quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,186 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $14,978,000 after acquiring an additional 2,997 shares during the period. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the first quarter worth $7,898,000. Finally, First Long Island Investors LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 16.6% in the first quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC now owns 54,021 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $15,231,000 after acquiring an additional 7,707 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Thirteen 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 MarketBeat, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $318.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,721.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,721.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the business’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 transaction of $727,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 2,905 shares in the company, valued at $900,550. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,998 shares of company stock valued at $9,935,493 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $301.61 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $296.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $274.51. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90. The company has a market capitalization of $217.36 billion, a PE ratio of 25.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.17 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.71 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 60.10%.

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.