Maiden Cove Capital LLC Buys New Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Maiden Cove Capital LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,398 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $426,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.4% during the third quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 1,422 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% in the third quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,472 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,057,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.8% during the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Founders Financial Alliance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% during the second quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 4,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD traded up $4.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $298.97. 3,279,284 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,858,855. The stock has a market cap of $214.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.25, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $299.08 and a 200-day moving average of $276.64. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.99% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. 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 stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total transaction of $441,470.49. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $459,435.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,596 shares of company stock valued at $10,698,289 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MCD shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Baird R W cut shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.46.

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.