Heritage Investment Group Inc. Buys Shares of 1,651 McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Heritage Investment Group Inc. purchased a new position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,651 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $503,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the second quarter worth $6,612,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth $1,394,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in McDonald’s by 58.9% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 138,102 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $35,194,000 after buying an additional 51,210 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,186 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $14,978,000 after buying an additional 2,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. increased its position in McDonald’s by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 49,318 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $15,018,000 after buying an additional 7,200 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Trading Down 2.0 %

MCD traded down $5.93 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $292.63. 4,039,432 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,509,453. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $300.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $277.42. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $317.90. The company has a market capitalization of $209.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.19 EPS. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.65%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’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 transaction 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. This trade represents a 48.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total value of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. The trade was a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,596 shares of company stock valued at $10,698,289. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MCD shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.46.

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.