McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Position Lifted by Blair William & Co. IL

Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 359,917 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,871 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $91,721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,612,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,180,928 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $350,157,000 after purchasing an additional 15,863 shares during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 411.4% during the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 7,497 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,223,000 after purchasing an additional 6,031 shares during the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 19,032 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $5,608,000 after purchasing an additional 6,447 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the first quarter valued at $7,898,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $293.73 on Wednesday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $302.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $274.83 and its 200-day moving average is $270.53.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 56.71%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $446,721.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $285,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,681 shares in the company, valued at $3,557,060. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,721.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,291 shares of company stock worth $1,689,073 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Guggenheim increased their price target on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. KeyCorp cut their price target on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays lowered their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $306.11.

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.