First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA Boosts Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA raised its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,112 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at $44,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter worth about $59,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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 report on Tuesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Thirteen investment 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.46.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total transaction of $441,470.49. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $459,435.60. This represents a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.57, for a total value of $328,128.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,484 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,428,777.88. This trade represents a 8.73 % 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 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD stock traded up $1.47 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $297.80. The stock had a trading volume of 175,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,485,367. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.01, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $299.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $278.55.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. This is an increase 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 58.65%.

McDonald’s 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.