United Asset Strategies Inc. Grows Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,847 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 32.3% during the first quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 176 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $59,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Macroview Investment Management LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 433.3% during the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 256 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MCD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $318.74.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE MCD traded up $0.09 on Thursday, reaching $291.61. 1,003,172 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,511,871. 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 market capitalization of $209.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $298.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $275.47.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.19 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total transaction of $321,325.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,036,366.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at $3,632,712.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total value of $321,325.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,036,366.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,256,818 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by 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.