Maverick Capital Ltd. Purchases Shares of 20,975 McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 20,975 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $6,387,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $296.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $212.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $299.96 and a 200-day moving average of $278.95.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.19 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. 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. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 58.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on MCD shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp raised their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Guggenheim cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $446,721.60. This represents a 48.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $727,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 2,905 shares in the company, valued at $900,550. The trade was a 44.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,597 shares of company stock worth $10,702,754 over the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.