Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 49,106 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,694,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in McDonald’s by 8.4% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 72,369 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $22,037,000 after buying an additional 5,638 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 594.4% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 16,970 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $5,168,000 after acquiring an additional 14,526 shares during the last quarter. Running Point Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $213,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 46,426 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $14,137,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,173,859 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $357,452,000 after acquiring an additional 68,184 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MCD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped 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. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.46.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. The trade was a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 19.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,596 shares of company stock valued at $10,698,289 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Down 2.3 %

NYSE MCD opened at $284.18 on Thursday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.54, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $300.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $277.84.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued 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 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.19 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.