Second Half Financial Partners LLC Acquires New Shares in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Second Half Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 6,495 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,978,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in McDonald’s by 3.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,567,030,000 after acquiring an additional 188,888 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 66.9% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,542,550,000 after buying an additional 2,193,769 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 8.0% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,216,677,000 after buying an additional 354,196 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in McDonald’s by 39.7% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,565,398 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,005,264,000 after buying an additional 1,012,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 31,151.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $706,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,311,721 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.5 %

McDonald’s stock opened at $291.10 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $208.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $317.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $300.06 and a 200-day moving average of $277.60.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The business 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 business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.19 EPS. Research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Thirteen research 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, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 19.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total value 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 trade represents a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,596 shares of company stock valued at $10,698,289. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.