Rockbridge Investment Management LCC Takes $246,000 Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Rockbridge Investment Management LCC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 809 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. United Bank boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 6,446 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,963,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Windward Capital Management Co. CA acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $559,000. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 18,939 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $5,767,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Holistic Planning LLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Holistic Planning LLC now owns 2,101 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $640,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,365,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $298.97 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $299.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $276.64. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $214.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.25, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 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 178.99%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.19 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 58.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total value of $441,470.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $459,435.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total transaction of $441,470.49. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $459,435.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total value of $321,325.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,036,366.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % 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 worth $10,698,289 in the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on MCD. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price 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. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.46.

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.