McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Acquired by Auxier Asset Management

Auxier Asset Management boosted its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,634 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the quarter. Auxier Asset Management’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,543,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter worth $44,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MCD. 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 report on Tuesday, September 24th. Argus upgraded McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.46.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:MCD opened at $295.08 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.46 billion, a PE ratio of 25.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $299.98 and a 200-day moving average of $278.78.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $1.77 dividend. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 58.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 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 represents a 19.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total transaction of $428,967.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,721.60. This represents a 48.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,597 shares of company stock worth $10,702,754. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company 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.